These Changing Tides
by Niyomi
Summary: Decades after Team Rocket terrorized Kanto, tensions between trainers and civilians are at a boiling point. Mitzi's brother, the last Plateau Champion, is missing and she's determined to find out the truth. But good and evil aren't always exclusive and this new generation of trainers will have to decide where they stand when the future of Kanto is at peril.
1. Our Everyday Lives

She remembered fire.

She remembered smoke and sweltering heat.

She remembered waiting for what felt like years in her child's mind for something to make it all go away.

She didn't remember pain. They often told her that she probably wouldn't, but she still found that strange. Of anything else, she should probably remember pain, shouldn't she?

But she didn't. She only remembered hopelessness, desperation, and wondering when it would end. And then water, blessed water, raining down from the sky itself. Salvation.

Then there were arms lifting her. And then darkness. And then light again. Sitting in a room full of white.

And then her parents. And then her brother. But they didn't dare take a step towards her because they were looking down at something, with horrified expressions, and so she looked down, too and...

She screamed.

* * *

><p><em> June 1st, 2010<em>

**Celadon City, Kanto**

Mitzi woke with a start, shooting straight up in bed. Her heart was pounding and she couldn't breathe, so she frantically jumped out of bed without thinking. Her legs were still tangled in her bed sheets and she tripped, crashing headfirst into her dresser.

Halo yelped in surprise as she landed on top of him. The large Mightyena crawled out from underneath her and stared down at the girl with wide, red eyes, as though asking "_What is it, what's happened?!" _He sniffed her warily and gave a tentative lick to her face.

Mitzi was not easily frightened. In fact, people had often said that she owned a bravery bordering on stupidity. So on those rare occasions that her heart beat so fast that she thought it was going to burst from her chest, her first inclination was to run far and fast and to never look back. But there was nothing to run from in this case. Her room was the same. Halo was the same. All of Mitzi's troubles were inside her head.

She pressed a hand to her forehead and she could already feel a hard, painful bump forming. She searched among the bed sheets for her alarm clock, which had been knocked off the dresser in her panic.

"2:30 AM," she said. "Right on time."

Halo whined.

Mitzi rose slowly, her leg on fire, and steadied herself on the edge of her dresser. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Wide eyes and a slightly crooked nose, set in a small face, peered back at her in the dark. Her dark hair was down to her shoulders and her blunt bangs, which she trimmed herself (not always well) were creeping into her eyes. She looked to the corner of the mirror where a tiny photograph was taped. There was an adolescent boy in the photo carrying a small, chubby baby. Both had matching dark hair and blue eyes.

Whenever she saw that photo, Mitzi felt like someone was scraping her insides out with a rusty spoon. Why did she keep that stupid photo there in the first place? _I'm a masochist I guess,_ she thought to herself. Or maybe she was just optimist, stubbornly holding onto dreams in the hopes that someday they would become reality. She wasn't quite sure of anything, other than the fact that all of these memories crashing against each other in her head was causing her pain. If nothing else, she was familiar with pain.

She wanted to call Daichi. But Daichi didn't have a cell phone and she knew that if she called the house phone at this hour, her Aunt Yui would throw an absolute fit. She couldn't be the cause of Daichi being scolded at by his mother. After all, she'd done enough of that when she was kid and was pretty sure that she owed Daichi a lifetime of servitude for it.

Not that she'd ever admit it, of course.

She left for the living room unsteadily and turned on the television, lowering the volume so that her mother wouldn't wake. It was a wonder she hadn't already came storming into her room after the commotion she'd just made.

Halo, dutiful as ever, followed her every step. He seemed to know about her pain better than she knew. Whenever they did their morning jog around the lake, he would suddenly slow down and force her to walk at his pace. It was as though he always knew when she was pushing herself too hard. It drove her mad sometimes and she would yell at him, even though she knew that he was right. She was always testing her limits, sometimes dangerously so. It was like she was trying to wheedle a little more strength out of some untapped reserve inside of her. She hated when people tried to stop her from this, and hated everyone who tried to act like they knew better than her.

But she could never bring herself to hate Halo. He was a creature of instinct, like herself, and so she begrudgingly allowed it. He was also probably her best friend at this point. Mitzi settled into the couch as Halo hopped up and laid down next to her. He rested his head on her lap and sighed.

Mitzi flipped to one of the few networks left that showed pokemon battles 24/7. They were almost always re-runs when the Indigo Plateau was out of season, but it was better than nothing.

"Sandshrew, use dig!" shouted the trainer on the television.

"She's just going to use Water Gun," Mitzi said quietly to herself.

"Poliwhirl, shoot your Water Gun down that tunnel!," said the second trainer.

"Told you," Mitzi said. She watched the match until the end, half an hour later. She thought about watching another, but she knew that if she did, she would just be up all night.

_"What is insomnia?"_ _she asked Daichi over the phone. She'd been up all night, watching television, for the second night in a row. With only scattered half-hour naps, her brain felt fried, but every time she closed her eyes she just couldn't find that peaceful place of emptiness._

_"It's an inability to sleep," he'd responded. "Sometimes it's a genetic thing, sometimes it can be brought on by trauma, or stress. Where did you hear that?"_

_"Just saw it on television," she lied, fingering the bottle of prescription in her hand._

Mitzi got up and stretched the best that she could. She was sixteen years old now and other than a slightly less painful leg, her life hadn't changed much since then. She spent the majority of the day trying to fill up the time until the next day came, and spent most of the night trying to do the same. She didn't need physical therapy anymore, and her session of home-schooling had already ended for the year once the summer came. It all meant that Mitzi was more bored than ever.

She spent a lot of time on the internet, browsing Pokémon trainer forums. The community was still incredibly active online, which she was thankful for. These days it seemed more and more like pokemon rearing was a dying art, at least when it came to how things used to be.

Mitzi mostly lurked the forums, seeing the new methods of training that came out. Occasionally she posted questions to people who were already on her journeys, mostly asking about the cost of things. She had saved a nice amount of money from her part-time job (even though she was fired after 6 months for "talking back to customers", whatever that meant). If she was smart about it, she knew she could make her money last long enough for her to get started on her journey and enter competitions that awarded prize money. Things would be better after that.

Or so she told herself. The reality was that Mitzi's mother was entirely opposed to the idea, and she knew this without even asking. Her mother was the opposite of Mitzi in that sometimes she seemed scared to even breathe. Mitzi couldn't understand her, and maybe her mother couldn't understand Mitzi either. It would at least explain why they could hardly exchange a few words without being crushed by an overwhelming sense of awkwardness.

Mitzi didn't like the way that her thoughts had turned and so she headed towards the front door. "Let's go," she whispered to Halo as she slipped on her shoes. She quietly unlocked the door to their apartment and closed it behind her.

Their apartment complex boasted an indoor pool and the security for it was pretty lenient, since the apartment was mostly made up of childless-families and older couples. Mitzi was hit with the scent for chlorine as soon as she opened the door to the basement. It wasn't the ocean, but it would have to do. Halo jumped up onto a lounge chair as Mitzi tripped down to her underwear. She took a deep breath and dove straight in.

Mitzi swam downwards and reached for the bottom rung of the pool ladder. She held on in order to keep herself underwater and just floated down there for a while, letting the silence close in on her. She closed her eyes and imagined that she was in the ocean, diving through creepy fingers of seaweed and schools of goldeen. Worlds of colors swam behind her eyes, blues and greens twisting and morphing around her until the world was all quiet.

Finally, she felt her mind begin to ease. Even though her leg was aching more the longer she went without her medicine, her stress melted off her body in waves. When she was at her limit, she surfaced again. Mitzi curved her back and floated at the top of the water. With her ears still submerged, she heard nothing but the rush of the water filter. She touched a hand to her left thigh, where the long scar that ran down her leg began.

She closed her eyes and felt at peace.

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> NoseInABook  
><strong>From:<strong> SwimmingWithDragons  
><strong>Subject:<strong> angry mother is angry!  
>07:38<p>

So I may or may not have fallen asleep in the pool last night... mom was not happy.

I cant believe u told me in ur last e-mail to do homework to relax! Who does their homework to relax during SUMMER VACATION? Only crazy people probably.

- Smells Like Chlorine

P.S. i just read something interesting! call me noonish tomorrow!

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> NoseInABook  
><strong>From:<strong> SmartyPantsChi  
><strong>Subject:<strong> I hate Sundays  
>08:40<p>

My Mom is trying to drag me to your house for prayer circle. I told her I was menstruating. Want to hang out?

- Chi

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> NoseInABook  
><strong>From:<strong> SmartyPantsChi  
><strong>Subject:<strong> RE: I hate Sundays  
>08:46<p>

I'd like to clarify that I am not actually menstruating at the moment. Please reply.

-Chi

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> SmartyPantsChi  
><strong>From:<strong> NoseInABook  
><strong>Subject:<strong> RE: Menstruation  
>08:55<p>

I appreciate the clarification. I'll be over in a bit. Mom told me to chase down the Rattata that's been eating her turnips.

Mizuko asked me to call her. Not sure what it's about. Can I borrow your phone?

From,  
>Daichi<p>

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> NoseInABook  
><strong>From:<strong> SmartyPantsChi  
><strong>Subject:<strong> Crazy loveable cousins with big blue eyes  
>08:57<p>

Of course! Good luck with the turnips.

Hope she is ok.

-Chi

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong>SmartyPantsChi  
><strong>From:<strong>NoseInABook  
><strong>Subject:<strong> RE: Crazy loveable cousins with big blue eyes

08:59

Me too.

From,  
>Daichi<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Cedarwood Village, Kanto<strong>

"Augh!"

Daichi swung the broom again, but that damn Rattata wasn't about to give up. They stood facing each other the vegetable garden, a battle to the death for his mother's turnips. The little purple pokémon stood his own against the boy. The pokémon squeaked at him as Daichi swung again.

He didn't really want to hit the poor thing, but swinging at it just wasn't enough to scare it away. Daichi leapt out of the way and fell on his rear as the Rattata came in for a Tackle. The pokémon missed. It faced Daichi and dug it's little forepaw into the dirt as it reared for another attack.

Daichi shook his fringe out of his face, the curtain of black creeping into his eyes now with how long he had let it had grow. He spotted the garden hose out of the corner of his eye and dove for it.

"Rattat!" squeaked the pokémon, getting ready for another tackle.

Daichi grinned as he turned the nozzle until it was at full power. He aimed it at the pokémon. "Take this!" he shouted. He squeezed the handle and a fierce jet of water shot from the hose. The rattata panicked as the water hit its face. Daichi felt a moment of guilt, knowing from experience that being hit with the those was no fun, but luckily the pokémon finally gave up and scurried off and back into the woods where it had came from. Daichi released the handle and let the hose drop to the floor. He sighed with relief and leaned back on his elbows.

His clothes were covered in dirt and grass stains, but for the moment he let himself catch his breath. The little rat pokémon had definitely given him a workout. Though Daichi was young and skinny, he was very out of shape. He spent most of his time either reading or playing video games with Chiasa. He supposed he should probably work out. Maybe then his older cousins would stop picking on him. Daichi looked down at the hose with disdain.

Daichi looked back up at the sky, a clear and bright blue. It was kind of silly, but he thought of his cousin, Mizuko. Everyone in Cedarwood more or less looked the same (Chiasa had once commented concernedly about the possibility of inbreeding). They generally had brown hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. So whenever Mizuko and her brother came to town, it was pretty impossible to miss them.

Mitzi and her brother had inherited their wide, blue eyes from their mother. Daichi remembered the first time he met Mitzi. He was six years old when Daichi's uncle and his blonde-haired, blue-eyed wife had came for a visit, bringing with them a tall ten-year-old boy and a small four year old. Daichi's mother had introduced him to his new cousins and he remembered being none too excited about it. He remembered thinking that all this meant was more people to pick on him and he'd eyed the then ten-year-old Ryuuji with wary eyes. But Ryuuji, despite being older, was kind to Daichi. He seemed to be genuinely interested in the books that Daichi was reading and he knew all about mythical pokémon and the great Legendaries. Needless to say, Daichi idolized him.

Mitzi, however, was a different story. She was reckless and dangerous. She liked to climb trees and steal cookies and sneak into other people's yards to see what they had to play with. She was wild, undisciplined, and frankly a little scary. Even so, there was something about the little girl's bravery that Daichi had admired greatly. She wasn't scared to talk back to adults and she loved entering the forest that surrounded Cedarwood Village, when Daichi himself had been told time and time again to never enter without an adult.

When Ryuuji wasn't around to stop them, Mitzi liked to steal away Daichi and make him her accomplice on her "journeys". She'd pretend to be a trainer looking for new pokémon and going on grand adventures. Daichi would watch her climb over fallen trees and trek through shrubs so tall that they buried her completely. He wondered why he couldn't be like her.

They visited every summer after that, in order to escape the busyness of Celadon City and give Mitzi and Ryuu a chance to play in the wilderness. He'd heard through the grapevine that his uncle was trying to get help from his brother to fund his business, or something like that, Daichi never really listened to gossip. He just liked having Mitzi and Ryuu around.

Daichi wouldn't admit it then, but he actually missed them a lot during the rest of the year. The forest was quiet without Mitzi stomping around everywhere, and with Ryuuaround the rest of his cousins typically left Daichi alone. When he was eight Daichi learned how to use the computer, and from then on he wrote e-mails frequently to his favorite cousins. It helped ease the loneliness, but he still missed them.

The last summer that he saw her, Mitzi was ten years old and Daichi was eleven. He remembered that they played a lot in the ocean that year. Mitzi was a natural born swimmer, which made Daichi's father remark that the little girl had been aptly named, as Mizuko meant "child of the sea."

Daichi had been insanely jealous because it took all of his effort just to keep his head above water. Mitzi, who could never leave well enough alone, had tried and tried to help Daichi become better but all it did was frustrate him more. He eventually yelled at her and stormed away from the beach, leaving what he knew was a very hurt ten-year-old behind. When he went to apologize later that day, Mitzi had just laughed at him. It was a mystery what went on in her head.

Daichi shook himself out of his daydreams and stood. The only thing he knew for certain when it came to Mitzi was that he didn't really know anything.

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> SwimmingWithDragons

**From:** NoseInABook

**Subject:** Your face scares small animals

09:15

I just chased a Rattata out of my mom's garden. Wish you'd been here.

From,

Daichi

* * *

><p><strong>To: <strong>NoseInABook

**From: **SwimmingWithDragons

**Subject:** rude!

09:18

Said the boy being eaten by his hair. that's right, Chi sent me photos! when r u gonna cut that mess?

Mitz.

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> SwimmingWithDragons

**From:** NoseInABook

**Subject:** My hair is my business and I decline to comment on it.

09:20

Call you from Chi's house in 20?

From,

Daichi

* * *

><p><strong>To: <strong>NoseInABook

**From:** SwimmingWithDragons

**Subject:** RE: My hair is my business and I decline to comment on it.

09:22

K!

Mitz.

* * *

><p>Daichi was thankful that his mother's prayer circle had already confined themselves to the living room. He was able to cross the den and head upstairs towards his room unnoticed. He'd just finished e-mailing Mitzi and was changing into a gray T-shirt and jeans when he suddenly heard a commotion downstairs. Footsteps stormed through the den and then the living room until finally they moved to the kitchen. Children yelled and parents talked over them, laughing and telling jokes. "Shit," Daichi cursed. His cousins were here.<p>

His stomach growled. He had been planning on grabbing something to eat before heading over to Chi's, but it looked like he'd have to forget that plan. He left his bedroom and locked it behind him, in order to prevent his cousins from snooping. He crept down the stairs. Daichi made it to the bottom and peered around the wall separating the den from the kitchen. Twelve of his cousins were there, with the only missing ones being Ryuuji, Mizuko, and the oldest, Haru.

The kids all ranged in ages from five to eighteen and ran around the small kitchen looking for snacks and other hidden treats. Daichi hid behind the wall again and grit his teeth. If he was quick, maybe he could get to the front door and-

"Yo! Is that little DeeDee over there?"

"Hah! It is!"

Within seconds Daichi was ambushed. His male cousins started manhandling him, searching his pockets for money. One of them even took off his shoe and shook it. "Cut it out!' Daichi shouted at them, but they didn't let up. Kaoru, eighteen-years-old and arguably the most cruel, threw Daichi over his shoulder with ease ran over to the kitchen. He threw Daichi on the small kitchen table, causing the smaller children to run from the room screaming. Daichi was still dizzy from being held upside down, and he was missing a shoe.

Kaoru pulled up a chair and sat in front of him as his two other cousins mimicked the action. Jun and Nino, sixteen-year-old twins with short hair, leered at Daichi with mischievous eyes.

"I don't have any money," Daichi said automatically. "You took everything I had last week."

"You have other stuff you can give us," said one of the twins, who he guessed was Nino.

"I don't have any other stuff," Daichi mumbled.

"Sure you do!" Kaoru said, patting his knee the way a friend would. "You've got that video game I've always wanted to get! That new one with the swordsman that just came out!"

"Loan it to us," said Jun, with Nino nodding emphatically in agreement.

Daichi felt anger rising inside of him. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "So you can break it like last time? Or lose it like the time before that?! Or how about that time you traded it for cheap booze!"

Instantly, the mood among the teens grew menacing. Jun and Nino looked over their shoulders to make sure the adults hadn't heard what Daichi had said, then turned their identical menacing gazes towards Daichi. Inside, he withered beneath their glare, but on the outside he tried to keep his back straight. He made to stand from the table, but Kaoru put up his hand and kept Daichi in his place. "You trying to get us in trouble?" he said lowly. Daichi made to say something smart but Kaoru stood, all six feet of him causing Daichi to grip hard to the edges of the table.

Suddenly, one of his aunts entered the room. She was a little, mousy thing, but her belly was swollen with a new baby on the way. Instantly the group of teens parted and started laughing among each other as though they'd told some sort of joke. The adult paid them no mind. She made to reach for a glass in one of the higher cabinets and immediately Kaoru went over to help her. Daichi took the time to make his escape. He collected his lost shoe from the den and ran out of the front door without looking back.


	2. Our Hero

**The Trainer Stop, Celadon City**

"Well, if it isn't my favorite one-legged monster!" shouted a voice from behind the counter.

"I have two legs!" Mitzi shouted back as she entered the cafe. She climbed up onto a barstool at the counter and stroked the small Skitty that was perched there. It purred gratefully under her touch.

Alex's blonde curls wound crazy pathways around his head, like the way a Tangela's vines consumed it's face. He was in his early twenties and his face was still youthful. It had hardly changed since he'd been a teenager. He leaned over the counter and handed Halo a large biscuit, which he devoured in two gulps.

The Trainer Stop Cafe was popular with trainers. They offered discounted food to anyone with a trainer's license and were open to non-human guests (so long as they were small enough to fit through the door). They also televised battles on the large flat-screens that were scattered around the place, which meant that every trainer within a ten-mile radius of the city flocked to the cafe.

"Big crowd today?" Mitzi asked, just as she was shoved by a group of girls walked past her. The place was brimming with trainers, even more so than usual.

"Yep," Alex replied. "It must be that new Champion recap documentary. The upper level is so packed that we had to tell people to put their pokemon away, just in case the floor gives out." Alex laughed, but Mitzi looked up at the ceiling and didn't find that so funny.

He left for a moment and returned to her with a pot of coffee and a mug with a Seadra on it. He raised his eyebrows at her and she smiled. He never forgot her favorite pokemon. He poured a cup of coffee and added plenty of milk and sugar, then set the mug down in front of her.

"Mitzi, I've seen you here every weekend since you were a little girl. All you could ever talk about was pokémon. My Grandpa was always saying, 'You just wait, Alex. You are going to see that girl's face on this here TV one day.'"

Mitzi stared down into her coffee. She knew where he was going with this. He leaned on the counter and propped his chin in his hand, his eyes boring into Mitz.

"Why are you still home?" he asked her. Finally, Mitzi broke.

"I have enough money. I saved a lot from working at that stupid restaurant. And my medicine is working, so yeah if I really wanted to I could catch a train to Pallet Town first thing tomorrow and be gone. I could be out of that stupid apartment and in seeing the whole world. I know I have what it takes to make it. But..."

_Her mother, standing at the door of her son's bedroom. No tears. No words. Not really there at all. _

_Mitzi, hiding behind the couch, squeezing Halo against her chest. Waiting for the eruption of a volcano that never came._

Alex frowned.

"My mom would never go for it. Not since Ryuuji up and disappeared," she said. It felt like all the noise in the cafe had faded into the background for just one moment. It had been so long since she'd said his name. She thought about him all the time- more than she wanted to admit to anyone, especially to herself. But saying his name suddenly made him real again. She was crushed under the memories.

"That boy was always a mystery," Alex said quietly. "Ever since we were kids. I considered him my best friend at one point. And you think you know someone, but then you realize you never really knew them to begin with... It's strange."

Mitzi nodded, understanding. Ryuuji was just that: strange. Just when she thought she understood her brother, just when she felt like they were close, he would slip through her hands like running water. Six years had come and gone already and still she was alone.

_"Don't forget about me,"_ _she'd said. She was laying in the hospital beg, clutching tightly to the gray pokemon egg he'd given her. _

_"I won't," he promised._

"We were supposed to be trainers together," Mitzi said quietly. "He said he would come for me on my sixteenth birthday. But after he won that Championship he just stopped contacting me..." she trailed off, and Alex put his hand on hers and squeezed. It was comforting to know that someone else remembered him as the person he was, and not just as the name that occasionally hovered on people's lips.

Alex left for a moment to attend to a customer and when he returned Mitzi had finished off her coffee. Alex poured her a second. "I don't want to upset my mom," Mitzi said after a while. "But I can't stay home forever and ever just because she's scared, either."

"I know you don't, peach," Alex said. "It's not a decision you should make lightly. But no matter what happens, no matter where you go, just know that you'll always have friends in Celadon." He smiled at her and her heart swelled with gratitude. She hugged him across the counter and he returned it, squeezing her tightly just like Ryuuji used to.

Alex left to actually do his job and Mitzi was alone once more. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and held it in her hands, wondering when Daichi would call. She wanted to talk to him about everything. But even if she did, she could already predict his would say that she was crazy, that she couldn't just run away and become a trainer with the snap of her fingers. He would tell her that training pokémon as a means of survival was silly, that family was important. He would tell her to get her head out of the clouds and come back to Earth.

But it wasn't impossible. She knew it, and he had to know it, too.

It wasn't uncommon for teens in Kanto to run away from home and become trainers. Kids who hated their parents, or who for some reason were disgruntled with their normal lives, always had the option of suspending their education and trying to make it big. It a wasn't an easy path and the vast majority of them never even cracked the top hundred of the Indigo Plateau, which is where most trainers got their names out into the world. It's where trainers found sponsers and were invited to other competitions. For professional trainers, the Championship was everything.

There were parents who had tried to get the authorities involved and have their teens forcibly brought home. This was common back when the minimum age for League trainers was ten years old, but that was during a time before Mitzi was born. The current minimum age to become a League-officiated trainer was sixteen, and now there was relatively little authorities could do to bring teenagers home.

The new PokeDex's that trainers were now required to carry as a form of identification was what made the largest change in parents' attitudes. PokeDex's were used to sign in at Pokémon Centers, and Gyms, and at most other places related to pokémon raising. They were essentially GPS trackers. This assuaged a lot of parents' anxiety over missing children, since it was now possible for authorities to access the data and keep track of where the trainers had been and where they would be heading next.

That is, unless they went completely off the map like Mitzi's brother had.

Mizuko leaned forward and put her forehead against the counter. She didn't want to think about anything anymore. She stared down at Halo. He'd been watching her all along, his red eyes boring into her own.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked him. Halo pricked his ears and tilted his head. He didn't say anything. Mitzi sighed and lifted her head, turning her attention to the large television hanging high on the wall behind the counter.

More than anything, she wished that Ryuuji was here.

* * *

><p><strong>Cedarwood Village, Kanto<strong>

"What the hell happened to you?" Chi exclaimed.

When she'd opened the door to him, her brown eyes had gone wide behind her thick-framed glasses. Daichi's hair was disheveled, his shirt rumpled, and he was still breathing hard from running down the road to her house. He just shook his head. Chiasa frowned and led him to the kitchen where she poured a glass of lemonade. Her long brown hair was in a French braid today and her bony shoulders jutted out from the purple tank top she was wearing. Daichi downed the glass of lemonade and poured himself another.

"You can't keep letting them bully you like that," she said softly.

"Easy for you to say. They like you," he replied.

"They like anything with a pair of breasts," she said with a wave of her hand. "They're too cruel to you, Dee. You should tell your parents."

"What, and have my mom protect me?" Daichi grimaced.

"Well, I could talk to my Dad and tell them they're harassing me," Chi offered. "That would calm them down for a while."

"They would know that I asked you to," Daichi replied. Chi conceded on that point. "Well, in any case you're safe here. Wanna go upstairs?"

Daichi nodded. She handed him the wireless telephone and they headed down the hallway. With a quick jump Chi was able to reach the rope that pulled the stairs down from the attic. "So what's up with Mitzi, anyway?" she said as she climbed the ladder.

Daichi followed her up. "She didn't say. Just asked me to call."

"She probably misses you," Chi replied, intuitive as ever. Daichi didn't really believe that, but he was too tired to argue.

Since Chi's parents were rather strict, she made it a point to stay up in the attic as much as possible. She'd made the place homey by putting up a few posters. Some of them were inspirational quotes, but most of them had to do with weird science-related jokes that only Daichi was ever able to understand. There was even a sleeping bag in the corner of the room, where Chi liked to nap every now and again. This attic also served as Chi's "laboratory", as Daichi like to put it. Chi had has an aptitude for the sciences since she was little. Most of her effort went into inventing robots that could clean her room and other little gadgets.

"Hungry?" Chi asked as she booted up her computer. Daichi's stomach growled in response and she laughed. "Back in a sec," she said and headed downstairs again.

Daichi looked at the phone in his hand. He dialed Mizuko's number and waited. She picked up the phone almost instantly. She spoke abruptly without even saying hello.

"So get this," she began and Daichi felt like he was going on another adventure.

* * *

><p>Mitzi was in the middle of telling Daichi about how she'd fallen asleep in the pool and woken up to her mother screaming when he interrupted her.<p>

"Hold on," Daichi said. He was fiddling around with an old television set. Daichi looked up as Chiasa climbed the ladder with a tray of cookies in one hand. "I can't get this thing to work," he told her.

"You're not doing it right." Daichi moved out of the way as Chi handed him the cookies and got to work messing with the TV.

"Chi's fixing it now," he told Mitzi over the phone. "I'm going to put you on speaker." He pressed a button on the phone and set it down in the middle of the room. He then walked over to where the bean bags were and dragged them closer to the television.

"Hi Mitzi!" shouted Chi.

Mitzi's loud voice filled the room. "Hey Chi! Are you still using that TV from the Stone Age?" she asked.

"I resent that comment," Chi yelled back. She unscrewed the back of the TV and started rearranging wires.

"You are still using it!" Mitzi exclaimed.

"It's a perfectly good TV," Chi said. "Anyway, if Mom saw me watching this she'd throw a fit. That's why we have to hide up here in the first place." She plugged in the final wire and adjusted the antennae and suddenly the TV lit up. "Aha!" she shouted. "And God said, let there be television!"

Chiasa picked the phone up and plopped down in the beanbag next to Daichi. She traded him the phone for the plate of cookies.

"Your Mom really doesn't like Ryuuji, huh?" Mitzi said.

"It's not really that," Chi said. "I think it's more like she dislikes all trainers. She grew up back when Team Rocket was a thing. They burned down the shop that she worked in, so I guess she never let that grudge go."

Mitzi was uncharacteristically silent for a few seconds. "That's not fair," Mitzi replied. "Most trainers are nothing like Team Rocket was. Especially not my brother."

"I know," Chi said. "It sucks. But it is what it is." She changed the subject. "So what are we even watching?"

"It's a special on Ryuuji," Daichi said.

"No way! A new one?" Chi asked.

"I'm not sure," Mitzi replied. Halo barked in the background and she shushed him. "I only found out about the showing because I borrowed my neighbor's TV Guide-"

Daichi interrupted her. "Borrowed? Or stole?"

There was a small pause. "Anyway," Mitzi continued, "It's like a documentary on the previous league champions. Sort of a _'where are they now?_' kind of thing. I mean, it's no guarantee that he'll be there or anything but... you know." She paused for a moment. "No thanks," she said. "Can I get another slice of toast, though?"

Daichi and Chi looked at each other. "Mitzi, where are you?" Daichi asked.

"Huh? I'm at a cafe. They have a TV here. Thanks. Say hi, Alex," she said to whoever was serving her.

"Hi Mitzi's little friends!" A young man called out to them. Chiasa and Daichi laughed.

Mitzi continued talking with a mouthful of toast. "Mom thinks I'm out walking Halo right now. If she knew I was watching Ryuuji she would go ballistic."

Chi's TV went blank and made a weird beeping sound, so she got up and tried to tune the channel again.

"How is she?" Daichi asked his cousin.

"Same old," she replied. Daichi imagined her shrugging as she replied. "Scared of Halo eating her. Scared of me disappearing," she mumbled.

Daichi didn't know what to say to that. Suddenly, the familiar intro for 'Trainer Watch' began playing.

"Oh!" Chi exclaimed. She scurried back over to the beanbag.

The Pokemon League was held every four years in Kanto, which meant that the last championship competition was in 2007. The program started with a foreword from some of the older champions, and then a segment focused on Arthur Worth, the man who had won the competition before Ryuuji. He was doing well- still an active part of the training community even though he wasn't battling anymore. He had opened a school in Vermillion to train new students and spent much of his time focusing on that.

Finally, his segment ended. Suddenly, the scene of the program changed to the Indigo Plateau Stadium. A young man was walking across the empty battlefield. The camera focused on his torso as he took off his dark blue jacket and threw it over his shoulder. A Charizard stood behind him, his expression nothing short of menacing. The Charizard suddenly flapped it's wings and took flight, the boy's dark hair whipping around in the wind. He covered his face with an arm as dust blew around him and finally lowered his arm when the dust settled. The camera panned up to his face.

He was a little tanned and the edges of his jaw and cheekbones were pronounced and a little scruffy. Light blue eyes and a straight, regal nose were framed with dark hair. The eyes were almost too wide as he stared back at the camera, a knowing expression in them. He grinned with a mouth filled to the brim with straight, white teeth.

"God, he's hot," Chi said, fanning herself. Daichi gave her a disgusted look. Mitzi was silent on the other end of the line.

A news reporter in white blouse and black, formal skirt approached Ryuuji. They shook hands. She turned to address the camera. "I'm pleased to introduce to you Ryuuji Kazehaya, Pokémon League Champion."

Chiasa and Daichi sat in awkward silence as the program began. It spoke about Ryuuji's pokemon and how he came to encounter them, then moved on this training strategies.

There was a small, sit-down interview. Ryuuji sat in his chair, legs slightly apart and arms relaxing on either arm rest. His shoulders were broad and he laughed easily. It was apparent that he was a man now, such a polar vision from the young teen who'd shouted in victory when he was announced League Champion.

The program depicted him as a kind, yet firm trainer, and someone who never backed down to a challenge. They extolled the short time frame in which he was able to conquer the Indigo Plateau, from collecting his starter in Pallet Town to dominating the Indigo Plateau a year later. It was entirely unheard of. There were skeptics to his ability, people who claimed that his pokémon were pumped full of Proteins and other medicines which helped him accelerate his way to the top. He denied all of this, citing his success to his own dedication in training and his ability to find the inner strength of each of his pokémon.

The news reporter was examining Ryuuji's Nidoqueen when Mitzi began shouting. "Shut up! You don't know anything about him!"

Chi and Daichi looked at each other. "Mitz?" he asked. They brought the phone up between them and listened. A boy was in the distance shouting something back at her.

"Don't assume just because you suck that it's impossible for everyone!" Mitzi replied.

"I'm telling you it's impossible. No way can a kid with zero experience conquer the Indigo Plateau. That shit is just unheard of. If he didn't use some kind of Boosters on his pokémon, then I'm blind."

"Well I guess you need to get your eyes checked," Mitzi shouted back. A group of kids in the background stifled their laughter.

"You're the one who doesn't know anything! You're defending some kid you don't even know!"

"I do know him!" Mitzi shouted back, her voice strained with desperation. "That's my brother!"

There was murmuring in the cafe. "They do look alike," said another girl.

"Did you travel with him?!" the boy from earlier continued. "Do you know for a fact that he wasn't using? That there aren't people who gave him money because they placed their bets on him? There isn't a single trainer in Kanto who doesn't believe that kid forged his way to the top somehow and you know it."

Mizuko hesitated. "He's not like that," she said, but her confidence was wavering.

Daichi took the phone. "Mitz, just get out of there. That guy isn't worth it!" he said as loudly as possible.

The cafe was abuzz with people talking over each other until finally Alex told everyone to settle down. "Don't listen to them. They're just jealous kids. Go," Alex said gently.

Chiasa and Daichi listened as the noise of the cafe disappeared and was replaced by the noise of cars and wind blowing around them. They looked at each other, unsure of what they could say that would make anything better.


	3. Our Decision

**Celadon City, Kanto**

Mitzi and Halo ran to the Celadon City Park, a large expanse of green that went on for miles.

They passed the large lake at the heart of the park and headed for a group of boulders, glacial remnants that enticed children and reckless teens to climb them. Older teens liked to dare each other to climb high and jump off them. Mitzi knew this because she used to come here often, back when her leg was still healing, and join them. She'd never been able to make it to the top before. The twelve-foot boulder made her feel smaller than she already was.

The sun was shining high today, but Mitzi didn't know if it was the heat or the nerves that were making her sweat. She approached the smallest boulder, the one with the sloped incline leading to the higher ones, and began her ascent. It was difficult, since she still had the phone in her left hand, but she made it about halfway up. Halo was just behind her, peering at her with those ever curious eyes of his. Mitzi tucked the phone into her pocket and continued. The rest of the way up was steeper and with less purchase, and her hands sweat when she tried to get a good grip. When she made to put her left leg on a boulder higher than her waist, a sharp and painful spasm went through her leg. She gasped, then grit her teeth dug her small hands into a crevice, using all of her upper strength to pull herself to the top.

The top of the boulder was flat, with just enough space for the teen to lay down on her back with her legs dangling off the edge. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer. She turned to her left and saw Halo seated on a boulder just beneath her, panting with exertion. She looked at him and thought that maybe he looked a little prideful, too. Mitzi pulled the phone out of her pocket and brought it to her ear. "You guys still there?" she asked.

"We're here," Chi replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Mitzi replied.

"You sound out of breath," Daichi said. He paused. "You didn't-"

"Punch his stupid face?" Mitzi asked. "No. I just went for a walk," she lied. She knew that Daichi wouldn't find climbing dangerously tall boulders any better.

"He was just jealous," Chi offered.

"Thanks," Mitzi answered. She sat up and looked down at the park below. The distance down to the grass made her body tingle with adrenaline. She could see most of the park from up here. Three boys were playing Frisbee with a Growlithe. An older man was napping against a Venasaur, who's flower was glowing gently under the heavy sunlight. Two women walked their Persians side by side. Everywhere Mizuko looked people where living their lives, going by day after day while her own world had come to a stand-still.

The confrontation at the cafe had shaken her more than she would've liked to admit. It wasn't the first time she'd had to defend Ryuuji and she knew in her heart that it wouldn't be the last.

Seeing his face had... He'd just changed so much. It was like she couldn't recognize him anymore. She didn't know what she had been expecting out of the program- for him to suddenly say "By the way Mizuko, pack your bags, I'm coming home to get you!"

Well, he hadn't. He hadn't so much as called her to let her know the program was going to have him in it. She was brimming with rage. Was she really so irrelevant to him?

_"I promise," he said._

Mitzi pressed her knuckles against her eyelids. What was she even doing with herself? She was withering away, dragging her feet and waiting for Ryuuji to come back for her. She was no different from a Venasaur without years had already passed since Ryuuji left home, six years since the accident that nearly took her stupid leg. Six years since he'd abandoned her...

It suddenly occurred to her that it was utterly ridiculous for her to still be waiting, especially when he couldn't even be bothered to send her a damn postcard. Forget waiting for him. Forget defending him to strangers she met in cafes. She was going to _show_ everybody that Ryuuji wasn't a fake. And more importantly, she was going to make the great man himself regret ever leaving her behind. She wasn't trash to be thrown aside, not then and definitely not today.

"He's not coming back for me," Mitzi said, with an air of finality.

There was a silence. "He's always been ... confusing. I don't know what he's thinking," Daichi replied over the phone. "You two share that in common."

Mitzi smiled a little. She looked down at the far away ground again, the high of her conquest flooding her with bravery. "I'm going to prove that kid in the cafe wrong."

"What?" Chi said.

"I'm going to do it. I'm going to become a trainer, and I'm going to challenge the Indigo Plateau next summer. I'm going to do it in a year and do better than Ryuuji ever did. My mom will probably... No, she will definitely hate me. But I can't stay in that little apartment anymore. I can't stay in this city, period." A Pidgey on a nearby tree was staring at her as though she might have some food for it. Mitzi shook her head and the bird pokémon flew away.

"Mizuko, that's-"

"AWESOME!" screamed Chiasa. "Mitzi you are officially my new hero! If you need anything just let me know! I'm totally in sync with the outside world, so I can send you flyers for when new competitions are, and which will earn you money and which will get your name out there! I can tell when the stores are going to have sales and when you can stay in a hotel instead of a dinky Pokémon Center...Holy crap, I'm going to get started." Mizuko heard Chi's footsteps as she ran over to what Mitzi assumed was the computer.

"Mizuko," Daichi said, and the way he said it made her feel like she was a child again, being scolded by him for being reckless and crazy. She wanted to stop the words that she knew were coming, she didn't want them to ruin the high that she was on. "You-"

"I've thought about this since forever," she cut him off. "I have money. I have enough to get me where I have to go."

"Your leg-"

"Is fine," she replied. "I've been on my feet every day, Dee. I can handle it."

"It's not a matter of _handling_ it," Daichi replied, his temper building. "It's a matter of looking after yourself! You should get cleared with your doctor-"

"No!" she said. Her heartbeat thrumming in her ears. Mitzi held onto the branch of the nearby tree and lifted herself up. She was standing on top of the world. "If it's not waiting for Ryuuji then it's my leg. If it's not my leg, then it's my mother. I'm tired of waiting for the universe to get it's shit together. I'm finally going to old enough to go on my own and it's time for me to do what I want to do."

Daichi was silent. Mitzi looked down again and saw that some children were pointing up at her and another young man was whistling and catcalling to her. She blushed to the roots of her hair. "I guess I should get down from here."

"What?" Daichi asked. "Down from where?"

"Nothing," she said quickly as she scooted down to a lower boulder. Halo licked her face when she got there. "Listen, Dee. I know you're not happy about me leaving, but I need to ask a favor of you." He made a sound like he was going to protest, but she stopped him. "Just listen to what I'm about to say. Please."

* * *

><p><strong>Cedarwood Village, Kanto<strong>

Daichi was beyond furious. "You want me to lie for you? To my own mother?"

"Please, Dee. I know it's a lot to ask but it's the only way to get past my Mom. If she thinks that I'm spending the summer with your family in Cedarwood, it'll give me enough of a head start to prove to her that I can make it on my own. Cedarwood is so close to Pallet, and I-"

"Mizuko. _Mi-zu-ko_. Are you even listening to yourself? You're just going to run away without telling her anything?"

"She wouldn't let me leave the apartment if I did and you know that, Dee. The only way to prove to her that I can do this is if I just show her. Once I get to Cerulean City I promise that I will call home and tell her the truth. Swear on my life."

"And how am I supposed to explain to my mother when you suddenly disappear?"

Mitzi hesitated. "I hadn't thought about that."

"No, because you don't think anything through!" Daichi ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Chi paused typing at her computer and swiveled in her chair to watch him.

Mitzi was undeterred. "Well, I'll just tell Aunt Yui that my leg isn't feeling well and that I should go back to Celadon to get it checked by a doctor. She'll think I'm here, my mom will think I'm there... Perfect solution!"

"And what if Anna wants to speak to my mom? Or what if she calls looking for you?"

"She won't," Mitzi said definitively. "Our moms hate each other, remember?"

Daichi remembered. The Kazehaya clan had essentially shunned Anna after Mizuko's accident and Ryuuji's disappearance. They said that she was a bad mother who not only failed to discipline her children, but in doing so also failed to protect them. He thought about this. "I guess you're right," he said after a long while.

Mizuko whooped. "So it's settled... Watch out, Halo. Haha, thanks." Daichi heard her shuffle a little and then a soft 'thump'. Children were laughing and clapping in the background. "C'mon," Daichi heard her say and he had a funny feeling that she was most definitely not on a normal walk with Halo. He bit his tongue and decided to choose his battles.

"So I'll just tell my mom I want to visit. She won't be happy about that either, but I know she won't say no. Even if Aunt Yui doesn't like her, I know my mom trusts her. I can have my bags packed tonight!"

"That's too soon, Mitz. My mom will know that something funny is happening." Daichi couldn't believe that he was saying this. "Come on Wednesday. That'll sound more reasonable."

Chiasa started clapping. "Look at you, being all deceitful. I'm so proud."

Daichi scowled at her.

"By the way, Mitzi," Chi shouted, rolling towards Daichi in her computer chair, "I checked online and they haven't started handing out this season's starters yet at Oak's lab. If you can get there on Friday, you'll have first pick. Want me to e-mail them and have them schedule you in?"

"That'd be awesome! Thanks Chi!" Mitzi replied. She then squealed happily. "I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'm going to go for another run with Halo. I'll e-mail you tonight?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Daichi paused. He wanted to say something more like "good luck" or "see you soon" but he was still a little stunned, so he just hung up. He looked at Chiasa. "Do you think she can do it?" Daichi asked her.

"I think she can do anything," Chi said, rolling back to her computer. "It won't be easy, especially when she has so much going against her. I think it's going to be so much tougher for her than it was for Ryuuji." She reclined a little in her chair. "But you know what, she has something that Ryuuji didn't have."

"What's that?"

Chiasa grinned broadly. "She has me." She pointed at him. "And she has you."

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> OakLaboratoriesOrg

**From:** ChiasaFukumiya94

**Subject:** Appointment to register a new trainer.

**June 1st || 12:30**

To Whom It May Concern,

Hello. My name is Chiasa and I am writing on behalf of a new trainer who would like to come to your laboratory on Friday. Her name is Mizuko Kazehaya and she is currently fourteen years old. However, her birthday will be on this coming Thursday, which will make her the legal age required to be League-officiated. She needs to register for her PokeDex, her training license, as well as pick up that ever important starter pokémon. If you have the open space for her, she would be very grateful to make an appointment to meet at the laboratory and have all of the aforementioned taken care of.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Chiasa Fukumiya

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> ChiasaFukumiya94

**From:** OakLaboratoriesOrg

**Subject:** RE: Appointment to register a new trainer.

**June 1st || 13:02**

Hello Chiasa,

You can let Miss Kazehaya know that we do indeed have an open spot for her to come by this Friday. I will go ahead and pencil her in for 11:30 AM. However, she should know that we already have quite a few trainers lined up to come in for the day. That being said, if she misses her allotted time and we have a walk-in trainer who would also like to register, we are not obliged to reserve a pokémon for her. It would be very unfortunate for her to come all this way and have to go home empty-handed, so please keep that in mind.

We also ask that she bring a government form of identification with her date of birth on it, as well as the most updated record of her school work. As you may already be aware, school records play an important role in allowing young people to apply for their trainer's license. It is a large responsibility to raise and look after pokémon and we hope to insure that we are putting their lives in responsible hands.

That being said, we quite look forward to seeing Miss Kazehaya on Friday.

Kindest regards,

Amelie Marshalls, Laboratory Assistant

Oak Laboratories, Pallet Town

* * *

><p><em>Wednesday, June 3rd<em>

**Express Train from Celadon City to Pallet Town**

Mitzi was a bundle of nerves as she took her seat. After squeezing her large travel suitcase on the over head compartment and putting her backpack in her lap, Mitzi realized that she just could not sit still. She tapped her fingers on her bag, then moved to bouncing her leg up and down. She looked out of the window and saw that her mother was still standing there on the platform, with Halo's leash in one hand and chewing the nails on her other. She looked small and fragile, her long blonde hair falling around her and wearing a T-shirt that two sizes too big. Her blues were squinting, either trying to block out the sun or trying to fight back tears. She waved at Mitzi and Mitzi waved back.

Her mother had taken the news surprisingly well, things considered. She told Mitzi to come back by the end of August, and Mitzi agreed... or pretended to.

This morning after an awkwardly silent breakfast, Mitzi had stood from the chair and was suddenly aware of how much her leg ached. There had been a sharp jab where her pelvis met her thigh and a throbbing that went all the way down to her knee. The rest of her leg had a funny tickling sensation, as though it had fallen asleep. Her breath hitched when she realized she couldn't even bend it without the tickling sensation intensifying.

_"You've progressed remarkably," Dr. Han told her. _

_"So why do I still hurt?" she asked him. _

_He sat down in front of her and put his warm hand on hers. Four years working together had made him fond of her, and maybe she'd be fond of him too if he could just give her some damn answers for once. "You've undergone a serious trauma," he told her. "The fact that you've even made it this far is, by my estimation, is more than we could have ever hoped for. I don't think you realize how lucky you are."_

_"I know all that!" she snapped. Before she knew it, her frustration had burst out of her. "You don't think I know that? I'm alive, and that's great, but I just... Just what kinda life am I supposed to live with a leg that only half-works? You don't understand, I was... I'm supposed to..."_

_He stared at her in that way he had of quieting her rage. "Mizuko, you are still young. And I have nothing but hope that your pain will ease as your body continues to heal itself. But I have to tell you, if you don't start having faith that you will get better, there is a very good chance that you never will."_

Anna had looked at her and Mitzi's heart had stuttered. She'd straightened up as best she could. "Don't let those people fill your head with nonsense," Anna had warned her, her blue eyes narrowing. "You know how they like to talk. And I don't want you wandering around those woods alone. I don't want you going there period, but I have a feeling that you'll just ignore me and do it anyway."

Mitzi had wanted to flinch, at the words and at the pain in her leg. To her own credit she just kept her face straight and nodded. Anna gave her a quick, awkward hug and headed back to her room. She shut the door behind her.

"This doesn't change anything," she told Halo, who was peering at her curiously from his bed. She rubbed her leg and grimaced. "It doesn't change anything."

Mitzi had slowly sank to the floor and Halo had approached her. She buried her face in his fur and allowed herself a brief moment of weakness before pulling herself together. With his help, she hobbled her way over to the drawer where she kept her army of medications. Five bottles stared back at her. She fished two pills out of a large bottle and one from a small one before downing them with milk from the carton that Anna had left out. Mitzi took the rest of the bottles with her to her room and threw them into her suitcase before angrily zipping it shut.

"I probably should get cleared before I travel," she said quietly. "But I'm so scared. What if he says no? What if he tells mom?" She looked up at Halo, who was much taller than her when they both sat on the floor. "I can't risk it," she told him, her chest aching with unshed tears. "This is my only shot. You know that, don't you?"

Halo pressed his head against her cheek, an act of solidarity.

"You know I can't take you with me," she said after a while, refusing to look at the mightyena. "She would be too suspicious."

He shuffled on his paws and whined.

"I'll take care of myself. I promise," she replied.

He'd licked Mitzi, on the forehead, causing all of her fringe to stick up. She scratched him behind the ears. "I know you're not Mom's biggest fan, but I need you to promise that you'll be good to her. She's probably going to need more than ever when I'm gone."

Halo's red eyes bore into her own and she knew that he understood. _I'll take care of her._

"Good boy," she'd said.

* * *

><p>Halo had seemed a little depressed on the way to the station, but he managed to straighten himself up when he knew that the time had come to separate. "I'll see you again soon," Mitzi told him, even though they both knew that "soon" actually meant "in a year". Her mother had mumbled something about seeing to it that he was walked. She'd tried to give her daughter a long hug, but it was strange and uncomfortable so they'd cut it short by saying that she was going to miss her train.<p>

The train finally pulled from the station. Mitzi stared at Anna and Halo until she couldn't see them anymore. And though she was sad and maybe a little guilty about the decision she'd made, the road ahead was just too bright for her to ignore.

Celadon City passed by in a blur. The skyscrapers and billboard signs went on for as far as she could see. They even passed the Celadon City gym, it's massive dome roof reflecting sunlight that glittered off it in a rainbow of colors. Mitzi would have to come back at some point to collect that badge, she thought idly. She wondered what the city would look like then and who she'd be when she finally returned.

The train suddenly entered a tunnel and the world outside went black. Mitzi was left staring at her own reflection in the glass. Since she was taking the express train, she realized that this meant that the train wouldn't rise above ground until they actually arrived at Pallet Town four hours later. Daichi would be picking her up from there.

She stood slightly and looked around. There weren't many people on the train. Most of them were business people tapping away at their laptops, while others had put on blindfolds and settled in for a long nap. Mitzi sat back down and put her feet up on the seat across from her. She supposed a nap was really the only choice she had left at this point.

"Excuse me."

Mitzi looked up. A boy was sitting in the seating space across the aisle from her. He was dressed like a trainer, with dark jeans, dirty sneakers, and a dark red jacket that had the Pokémon League emblem on the arms. He had a carefree smile on his face, but his dark eyes were staring straight into hers without hesitation. He couldn't have been that much older than her, and his blonde hair looked like it had survived a tornado, but something about the way he carried himself made Mitzi feel like she shouldn't be slouching in her seat.

"Do you have the time?" he asked. Mitzi didn't miss the fact that he was wearing a watch.

She looked down at the watch on her own wrist. "It's 11 o'clock," she said.

He nodded, still smiling. "Thanks," he said before settling back into his seat. Mitzi pretended to be rummaging through her back for something, but when she glanced back out the window and saw the other boy's reflection, she realized that he was staring at her. Mitzi was suddenly painfully aware of her poor outfit choice- a baggy T-shirt with a faded Squirtle on it and exercise shorts. She tried not to think about it.

"So, where are you headed?"

Mitzi was still rummaging around her bag looking for something that didn't exist. "Oh, Pallet Town." She glanced up at him and saw that he was blushing a little.

"I guess that'd make sense, since this is the express train." He was embarrassed and started fiddling with the zipper of his jacket.

In a stroke of dumb luck, Mitzi remembered that she'd packed a large bag of chips in case she got hungry. It was still morning, but she decided to go for it. She pulled out the bag and showed him. "Do you want some?" she asked. "I mean, since it's gonna be a long trip."

He grinned and nodded. She popped open the bag and he reached across and pulled a handful out. They smiled at each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Exit of Cedarwood Village, Kanto<strong>

Chiasa was buzzing with energy as she and Daichi rolled their bikes through town. "She's actually doing it! She's going to become a full-fledged trainer! God, I can't believe it. It takes so much guts to do that sort of thing, especially when you have to lie to everyone."

Daichi frowned. "In that respect it's also stupid."

Chi shrugged as they descended the hill that lead to the entrance of Cedarwood Forest. "Stupidity is in the eye of the beholder," she said.

"I don't think that's how the saying goes."

She ignored him. "So that makes two Kazehayas to become trainers. That's a neat record you guys are making."

Daichi had never thought about that. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Are you thinking about becoming the third?" she asked him innocently.

Daichi slipped into a small hole in the grassy field and tripped, making Chi laugh. He scowled at her as he stood.

"I know you've thought about it. If I had cousins like yours, putting me through that kind of hell, I'd be gone in a heartbeat."

It wasn't as though he hadn't thought about it. In fact, Daichi thought about it a lot. He often wondered what kind of life he would have if he wasn't constantly harassed by them. He wondered what kind of person he could be if he learned to be out on his own.

Sometimes when they were watching programs about other regions, he even found himself wishing he could see them with his own eyes. He wanted to see if they really compared to the stories he read in his books. But he only ever considered these kinds of thoughts fantasies. Now with Mitzi bursting forth into the real world, it made all of those fantasies seem just a little more tangible.

But could he actually do it? _No_, he thought to himself_. I_ _wouldn't last a day out there_. "I don't know a lot about pokemon. I wouldn't even know where to begin," he said finally. They reached the bottom of the grassy hill and made their way towards the part of the forest that was missing any trees, the only path out of their secluded town. Daichi glanced back at the identical wooden houses that were older than him. They loomed in the distance like unfriendly giants.

"So do what you do best and study up," Chi said. "Do you think any new trainer knew all there was to know?"

"Mitzi does."

Chi smacked his arm. "God, can you be any more self-deprecating? Pokemon are Mitzi's life. All she did when she was sick was study and watch Ryuuji on TV. Of course she's going to know a lot more than you. But that doesn't mean you couldn't catch up if you wanted to."

"What about you? Have you ever thought about doing it?"

Chi hesitated. "Of course I have," she said. "But we're not talking about me right now."

Daichi laughed. "Huh? What's with that? If you ask me then it's fair for me to ask you."

Chiasa pouted as they approached Daichi's house. "I just have my reasons. But believe me that one day I'll be out of this dinky place. You don't want to be stuck here all alone with your cousins when I'm gone."

They approached the opening to the forest. It was about a twenty minute ride through the forest path and then another twenty to bike all the way to Pallet Town. Daichi had made the trip a few times before to get Mitzi, but that was back when he was a kid and his Dad was right behind him. With his Dad working, it was decided that Daichi was old enough to make the trip on his own. He tried not to think about how dark the trail ahead through the forest was.

"Well?" Chi said. They stood there and stared at each other. "I'm not going in there first, if that's what you're thinking."

Daichi grimaced. "Fine." He got on his bicycle and tried not to think as he peddled his way down the trail.

At first it wasn't so bad, but when a Spearow dove in front of their path in hot pursuit of a Rattata, they both decided that it would be a good idea to go as fast as possible and get out of there. After a panicked frenzy of peddling, and one near nose-dive on Chi's part, they emerged in a record fifteen minutes. The sight of the bright sunlight filled them both with relief. They paused to catch their breath and admired the landscape.

Outside of Cedarwood Forest, miles of rolling fields of green stretched before them. A flock of Pidgey soared overhead, a large Pidgeot at the head. In the distance to their left, Daichi could just make out the sound of Weepingbells and Bellsprout gathering in a meadow. There was even a Fearow cawing loudly from somewhere within the forest behind them. The dirt trail infront of them stretched all the way to Route 1, which they could see in the distance if they squinted. From then it was just a right turn and a straight run all the way to the Pallet Town.

"Wanna race?" Chi asked, a mischievious glint in her eyes. Before he could respond, Chi zoomed past him, peddling straight for Route 1. Daichi chased after her.

* * *

><p><strong>Express Train from Celadon City to Pallet Town<strong>

"Hold up, why would you use a Rhyhorn if I have a Seadra?" Mitzi asked.

"To throw you off," the boy, whose name she learned to be Willhem, replied. He grinned. "Rhyhorn can learn to use Thunderbolt with a TM if you've got one. One hit and your Seadra is done for."

"What?!" Mitzi shouted. "No fair! I didn't know that."

"You've got a lot to learn, little one."

"I'm not that little," she said.

"You're little to me." He grabbed the bag of chips from her.

For four hours she and Will had talked about Pokémon. He came over to sit opposite from her, his feet propped on the seat next to her. Half an hour ago they'd started playing a game of strategy, where each pretended to send out a different pokémon and they talked through how the battle would go. Most of it ended with Mitzi stubbornly denying defeat and Will grinning triumphantly.

Mitzi had learned that Will owned his trainer license, his PokeDex, and a full team of Pokémon back home. She also learned that he was seventeen and originally from Hoenn, but had come all the way to Kanto to challenge the Indigo Plateau. Mitzi had swooned a little when he showed her his collection of badges. He hadn't been able to get far in the Hoenn League Conference and was planning on returning after training up and trying his hand in Kanto. Mitzi was insanely jealous of him. Not only did he already own so many pokémon, but he was also leagues ahead of her in terms of knowledge and experience.

"One day I'll be better than you," she proclaimed with an upwards tilt of her chin.

"Hah!" he exclaimed.

"I'm totally serious," she said, stealing the bag back from him. There was nothing but crumbs left and she tilted the bag into her mouth before continuing. "One day we're gonna battle and you're going to beg me to go easy on you. Just wait."

He motioned a finger to his mouth, signaling that she had crumbs on her face. She hurriedly wiped them away and he laughed. "It's a promise then," he said, and Mitzi's stomach swarmed with Butterfree.

Suddenly, the train was bathed in bright sunlight. Both of them squinted outside the window and when their eyes adjusted, they jumped upwards and flattened their hands against the glass. Rolling plains of green stretched before them. The train passed by a group of trainers, each of them riding Rapidash, as they ran across the grass. It almost seemed as though they were chasing the train. The train passed them by and then slowed, and now they were in Pallet Town. Suburban homes passed them by and in the distance, at the top of a hill stood the windmill that signaled Professor Oak's Laboratory.

As they pulled into the station, Mitzi and Will looked at each other at the same time.

"I guess this is bye," she said, making an effort not to show her disappointment. It had been so long since she'd hung out with a friend, let alone been able to discuss pokémon training with them. She had half a mind to tell him to wait for her so they could travel Kanto together. And yet a little place inside her told that wasn't right. He'd already been on his journey and a lot of what she was experiencing for the first time would be old news for him.

Besides, she didn't have a whole lot of time to just hang out and have fun. Part of the reason she was even heading out was to prove to everyone that her brother wasn't a fake and be the best that she could be. She needed to get to work as soon as possible.. If Mitzi could catch up to Ryuuji, or even manage to surpass him, no one could call him a fake ever again.

Will was staring at her hard and she thought that maybe he was thinking about something serious, too. She was about to open her mouth when the conductor interrupted her.

"This is Pallet Town," a man stated over the intercom. "This is the final stop on this train. I repeat, this is the final stop. All passengers must exit the train. Thank you for riding the Kanto Railroad."

They were broken from their staring contest. Mitzi hurried to pull her luggage down from the overhead compartment and Will helped her. He then slipped on his own backpack and they exited the train. He turned to face her on the train platform. "Let's not say 'bye'. I mean, we are going to meet again at the Indigo Plateau anyway, right?"

Mitzi tried to play it cool, even though she was suddenly bubbling with excitement. "That's true," she said nonchalantly, tilting her head.

He pulled a half-smile. "This is more like a 'see you later'." He offered his hand to her. "So, see you later, Mitzi?"

Mitzi smiled and shook his hand. "See you later, Will."

After what seemed like too long for just a handshake, they finally let go. Will turned and walked away, making Mitzi sad, but also filling her with a little excitement, too.

As soon as she exited the train station, Mitzi was greeted by two very sweaty, and very familiar, faces.


	4. Our Beginning

**Pallet Town to Cedarwood Village, Kanto**

Chiasa went running as soon as she saw Mitzi, dropping her bike which then landed on Daichi's foot. Neither girl noticed his pain as they squealed and hugged each other, then separated, squealed, and did it all over again.

"God, you haven't changed at all," Chi told her.

Mitzi grinned. Finally she turned to Daichi. They book looked at each other for a few seconds, taking in the differences and recognizing the familiarities.

"Your hair is long," Mitzi said.

"Yours is short," he replied.

"Can we hug?"

"Yeah. We probably should."

They hugged, squeezing each other like they had spent a lifetime apart. Everything, their parents mutual hatred, their idol's disappearance, and their overbearing loneliness came out in waves during that hug. It was like two puzzle pieces being fit together again and even Chiasa found herself tearing up a littl.

Though Mitzi had grown, it seemed as though very little had changed about her, including her bad habit of clinging onto his neck and using it to support herself whenever she hugged at him. Finally, after a lot of his complaining, she released him. "You've gotten so tall!" she shouted at him suddenly. "Can you even hear me from all the way up there?!"

"Right?" Chi said, struggling to carry Mitzi's duffel bag. "He could totally play basketball, if he was so inclined."

"I am _not_ so inclined," he replied.

When they were both kids, they'd remained the same height for a long time. Now the top of her head only reached to his chin. Other than the height difference, he was relieved to find Mitzi was relatively unchanged. She still had the same goofy face and the same excitable personality. When he'd first learned about her accident all those years ago, Daichi had actually been terrified. He had imagined his wild child cousin, depressed and withering away in a hospital room with a rotting leg.

Needless to say, that hadn't exactly been the case. Still, his imagination had done scary things to her.

"Aren't you so excited to get your starter, though?!" Chi said. They all turned to look at Oak's windmill, visible from anywhere in town.

"I'm beyond excited," Mitzi said. "I wish I could just go over there and demand one now." She sighed and shouldered her backpack and duffel bag with ease. The familiarity of the scene struck Daichi. Remembering her beast-like strength, he stifled his laughter. She really hadn't changed much at all.

As they headed through Pallet Town, the three of them caught up. Though they'd kept in contact over e-mails, everything felt like it had to be talked about all over again in person. Mitzi herself was a chatterbox, so much so that to Daichi thought it was bordering on the annoying side. That wasn't anything new, though.

They reached the end of town and approached Route One. Mitzi offered to peddle since Chi was probably tired, and the other girl obliged whole-heartedly. Chi stood on the pokes sticking out of the back tires of the bike and held onto Mitzi's shoulders while Daichi took Mitzi's duffel bag. Together they rode back to Cedarwood, with Mitzi and Chi gliding along and Daichi struggling to keep up.

* * *

><p><em>Thursday, June 4th<em>

**Cedarwood Village, Kanto**

When he was little, Daichi had nearly drowned.

He remembered a wave coming up behind him and sucking him down. He'd somersaulted a couple of times and didn't know which way was up, and the expanding dark blue of the ocean did nothing to help. His chest had hurt with how much he'd needed air and he'd thought for sure that he was going to sink to the bottom and never come back up. Then someone had wrapped their hand around his wrist, and Daichi had surfaced at last, coughing seawater out of his burning lungs and crying his eyes out. Ryuu had dragged him back towards shore and dropped him in the wet sand. Ryuu had sat by Daichi and pat his back while Mitzi, the fastest of all of them, ran back to the village to get his parents.

Daichi opened his eyes and looked out at the ocean. Mitzi and Chi were standing close to the water in their bathing suits, poking at seashells and seeing if anything was alive. He was sitting a little ways back on a fallen tree, his jeans rolled up to his knees and his hands pressed against the grainy wood beneath him. Daichi hadn't been brave enough to go the water since then since then. He could swim in pools and small lakes, but the vast nothing of the ocean still terrified him.

"There's nothing but Magikarp out there!" Mitzi shouted as she walked towards the beach. "Chi is over there looking at seaweed again."

She plopped down on the log next to him and they watched Chi separating a ball of slimy seaweed with her bare hands. Even Mitzi was a little grossed out by it. She looked away and started drawing shapes in the sand. He couldn't help but stare at the long scars on her left leg, the way they puckered in a little like they were being sucked back into her body. They'd never discussed her accident at length, and he though he was still curious, he had enough sense not to suddenly bring it up.

"Have you decided what you're going to get?" he asked, forcing himself to look away.

Mitzi pursed her lips in thought. "I really like Squirtle. I think I like water pokémon best," she said with a grin. "What would you get?"

He shrugged. "I haven't thought about it."

She looked up at him. Her dark hair, which usually covered her forehead, was soaking wet and slicked back from her face. She looked like a little kid again. "I think you're a Bulbasaur," she said.

He wrinkled his nose. "Is that an insult?"

"It's not!" She laughed. "Grass types kinda take a long time to grow, but there's also a big payoff if you have the patience to look after them. They need a lot of care, so I think you'd be good at that."

Daichi wasn't sure how to take the compliment. It didn't really matter, since he wouldn't be going with her anyway. Daichi stared back out at the water. The sun was already making its way down towards the horizon, bringing with it yellow and orange hues and blended into purple the higher that he looked. He turned his gaze back to the beach. Chi was still staring intently at her seaweed, and though she was kinda creepy when she did that, he thought that she also looked pretty with the setting sun behind her.

"You could always come with me, you know," Mitzi said after a while. "We could go to all sorts of places. Chi could come too." Her face split into a wide grin. "All of us could travel together!"

Daichi leaned back on his arms and looked at her. "Chi said the same thing."

"'Cause she's smart, obviously."

"Do you really think I'd be any good at it?" he said.

"I think you're better than you think you are," she said definitively. It was such an insightful thing to say that he had to do a double-take and make sure she was the same person. "You have the grades for it, so It's really just a 'yes' or 'no' question. _Do_ you want to leave this place?" she asked.

Her blue eyes stared hard into his and, like when they were children, he was unable to lie to her.

"Yes," he said, feeling it with every part of him.

"So there's your answer," she replied, as though everything was as easy as that. She was still so simple-minded, so blissfully uncomplicated and easy-going. A part of him hated her for it.

Daichi peered down at what she was drawing in the sand. It was a weird-looking blob with a bunch of spikes on its back. "Is that a bush?" he asked.

"No," she growled. "It's a Seadra."

"It looks like a bush."

"Shut up."

"How... do you know that you're ready?"

Mitzi looked up at the sudden question. "Ready for what? To leave home?"

He nodded. Mitzi shrugged again, a terrible habit she had never been able to shake. Daichi was known for being guilty of it too, often getting slapped on the back by his mother and told to stand up straight. Mitzi looked out at the ocean.

"You just feel it," she said after a while. "It's kind of like I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Leaving Celadon has always made sense to me and it doesn't hurt that I love Pokémon, either." She looked at him. "I've never been that good at staying in one place. What did Kaoru used to call me?"

"A cross-eyed Mankey on crack who-"

"Couldn't tell its mouth from its anus," Mitzi finished. They both laughed so hard they had tears in their eyes. "He's such a jerk," she said, wiping her face. "I'm so glad I gave him that bloody nose when we were little. I didn't see his face for the rest of that summer."

"That must be why he hasn't shown up since you came into town," Daichi said. "You were always good at scaring away the bullies. And small animals. And babies."

Mitzi punched him in the arm. He tried to laugh it off, even though it did actually hurt a little.

Chi seemed to have finally been satisfied with her seaweed investigation, since she was now heading back to the shore. She sat down on the sand in front of them, leaning back against the log. The three teens watched the tide pull in and out until the last rays of sunlight were swallowed up by the night.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, June 5th<em>

**Cedarwood to Pallet Town, Kanto**

On the morning of Mitzi's departure, Daichi woke to find his little cousin already up and dressed. She was sitting at the end of the rollaway bed, putting on her sneakers.

"How long have you been up?" he asked, his voice still hoarse so early in the morning.

"Um," she said. "Like an hour. Or five..."

Daichi reached for his alarm clock. "Mitz, it's only eight AM. What the hell?"

She grinned sheepishly. "I was too excited. I already backed my bag," she said, lifting up the navy blue backpack with the single cross-body strap. "I'm gonna keep my pokeballs in here," she said. "And I have space over here for potions, and some clothes back here, some snacks, shower stuff, and a map that I bought back home... Oh, and check out my outfit!"

Mitzi stood and put her hands on her hips. She was wearing a red, short-sleeved jacket with a dark red stripe running across her chest. And though it was unzipped, he knew that the white design of the center of the jacket was the white the outline of a pokeball. Underneath she had a long, white tank top. The rest of her outfit consisted of denim shorts and white knee-high socks, which Daichi noticed covered the scars on her leg perfectly. The red of her jacket matched the red stripes on her white sneakers. "Pretty cool, huh?" she said.

Daichi sighed. Her outfit choice was kind of the last thing on his mind. He got out of bed and pulled on a clean T-shirt. "So how are we going to do this?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"The lie. How are we going to do it?"

"Oh, that," Mitzi said casually. "Well hopefully your parents aren't up, 'cause if that's the case I can just call them later and tell them I headed to the station already. If they are there, I'll just go down the stairs limping and saying I don't feel well. Like maybe swimming yesterday tired me out or whatever. And I haven't actually taken my pain meds this morning so that kind of helps to sell it."

He paused and looked at her. "You're in pain right now?"

She sat down again and started tying her shoes. "I'm always in pain. Don't freak out about it."

* * *

><p>Thankfully, Daichi's parents were still sleeping by the time the two dark-haired teens exited the house. Mitzi took her medicine shortly after and she and Daichi had rolled his bike towards the exit of Cedarwood. Mitzi insisted on peddling, and so Daichi stood behind her, ducking and dodging overhanging tree branches through the dark forest trail until finally they emerged in the sunlight.<p>

The long field before them stretched on for miles, and though Daichi had just been here a few days ago, the sight still filled him with awe. The sun shone high today and they were was a light breeze rustling the grass that stretched for as far as he could see.

Mitzi got off the bike and adjusted the strap of her backpack.

"So," she said. "I guess this is it."

They stared at each other for a while. Daichi thought about when the next time they'd see eachother would be, and he assumed that she was thinking the same thing because she shrugged. "I'll see you around," she said simply. "Who knows, you may even see me on TV some time soon."

Daichi nodded and tried to smile back, but he felt an ache in his chest, as though this entire moment was just completely wrong. And though he supposed it was, considering they were lying to both their parents, he felt that it was also wrong in some other fundamental way. He stared at Mitzi, her dark hair lifting lightly in the breeze, and felt as though he shouldn't be saying goodbye again. His body felt heavy. Was it really okay to just let her leave like that? She was his best friend, and he had the opportunity of the life time to travel the world. He could escape his dreary life and run away into the sunlight. Why was he still hesitating?

Suddenly, she punched him in the arm. "Don't look at me like that!" she said, laughing. He grimaced and rubbed his arm.

Mitzi took a few steps backwards towards the trail that headed to Pallet Town. "Don't miss me too much," she said. She kept walking like that until there was a good distance between them. Then she stopped. "Let's not say goodbye," she said. "I mean, it's not forever. And I'll e-mail you when I can and call you and all that. It'll be okay," she told him, but he wondered if she was saying it to reassure him or to reassure herself.

He gripped the handlebars of his bike so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Okay," he said.

She smiled. Then she turned around and ran away from him without looking back.

As he watched her retreating form, Daichi remembered her words from yesterday._ You just feel it,_ she'd said.

Daichi turned his bike around and headed back to Cedarwood.

* * *

><p>Daichi stood in the center of his room, which was in complete disarray. He was sweating and breathing rapidly from how hard he'd pedaled back to Cedarwood. He was in the middle of folding clothes and shoving them into his backpack when he'd suddenly stopped and looked around.<p>

His legs were shaking so hard he thought he was going to collapse.

He looked down at his outfit and suddenly felt silly. He was wearing a dark green T-shirt, light wash jeans, and a pair of brown running shoes. Was this a bad outfit? Should he wear something else? He looked towards his closet, then shook his head. He couldn't have second thoughts now, not when there was so little time to catch up to her. He grabbed one of his sketch books and shoved that into his bag as well.

Daichi knew that he couldn't just leave. The guilt would eat him alive. He sat down at his computer and quickly wrote the fastest e-mail of his life. He wished he had time to look over it and say everything he wanted to say, but time was something he just didn't have any more.

_One year,_ he thought.

Daichi shut off his computer opened a folder at his desk. He pulled out his school transcript, the rows and rows of A's filling him with pride. What else did he need? He grabbed a copy of his birth certificate and rolled both papers up before sticking them into his green backpack. His hands were shaking, too, and he could barely zip his bag properly. After a few rough yanks he finally got it to close. Daichi headed to his bedroom door and gave the room one last look. He didn't know when he would see this place again. It had been as much a sanctuary as a prison for him. He might never see it again if he decided to become a trainer full-time.

Surprisingly, he found that he was more than okay with that.

He descended the stairs as quietly as he could. And though Daichi was trembling as he shut the back door behind him, he felt lighter than he had in years.

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> YuikoKazehaya203

**From:** NoseInABook

**Subject:** I love you.

Mom,

I'm sorry to have to tell you this way but if I want to catch up to Mitzi I have to hurry. I love you and Dad and I'm thankful for everything you've given me. However, I don't love Cedarwood. Actually, I think that I've kind of hated it for a long time. I've just been to scared of change and too worried about disappointing you guys to say anything about it. I don't like my cousins. I don't like being so secluded from the world. I don't want to stay there for the rest of my life. I wish I felt differently, if only to keep you guys from hurting.

I've decided to go with Mitzi. She's starting her journey to become a trainer and is headed to Pallet Town as I write this to collect her starter pokémon. I'm sorry that we didn't tell you.

When I was little, Ryuuji saved my life. He also saved me hundreds of times from being bullied. He stood up for me when I couldn't stand up for myself and I don't know how to repay him. I don't know where he's gone, or why he's disappeared without his sister, but I feel like I owe it to him to look after her. She's brave and she's independent, but sometimes she gets this funny faraway look in her eyes and it reminds me of when we were kids and she would look for Ryuuji all over the place, and how she wouldn't rest until she found him. I felt like she was going to float away when she looked like that.

I'm worried about her. I don't think I can just sit at home knowing she is alone. And even more than taking care of her, I should take care of myself. I need to know that when I'm grown up, I won't be scared of everything. I think that by becoming a trainer and by travelling the world, I can be a better person. I don't know if I'll be a good trainer, if I can even accomplish anything great, but I feel like I have to try. Even if it's hard and I'm no good, at least I can come home without wondering about what could have been.

I'll miss you both and I promise to stay in touch. I'll contact you again once I reach Cerulean City.

Love always,

Daichi

* * *

><p><span><strong>Route 1 to Pallet Town, Kanto<strong>

Mitzi walked along the dirt road of Route 1, her white sneakers kicking up dirt as she made the trek to Pallet Town. In the distance she saw two male trainers having a battle. They looked her age and had an Eevee and a Bulbasaur, who went at each other with Tackle attacks. The trainers finally ended the match and laughed as they pet their pokémon. The boys clapped each other on the back and then began shoving each other, all the while laughing.

Mitzi felt a pang in her chest. It wasn't in her nature to let herself be overcome by loneliness. But even though she had the whole world at her feet and she should feel like she was flying, all she could thing about was the fact that her footsteps were the only ones she heard on the long road to Pallet Town. She tried to cheer herself up by thinking about the new pokémon she would get and the friendship that she would make with it, but the hole in her heart just didn't want to close. How long would it take before she stopped feeling this way?

She thought of Daichi and how he'd looked just before they parted ways. He had that perpetual grimace on his face, as though telling her not to go. Mitzi had felt bad about leaving Mom and Halo, but that was nothing compared to how she felt about leaving Daichi. It hurt just to think about him, she realized. They'd only just been reunited again and now she wouldn't see him for another year. Mitzi didn't know how much more loss her heart could take. If losing her father and brother hadn't killed her already, maybe losing her best friend finally would.

She stopped walking. There was a set of frantic footsteps behind her, someone running so hard that it sounded like their life was on the line. She turned around.

Mitzi squinted at the person running towards her. All she could see from the distance was a boy with shaggy, dark hair. Her eyes widened and for a second her heart stopped. "Ryuuji?" she whispered. No, that wasn't quite right. She took a step closer. The boy was approaching her fast. When she recognized the square shoulders and skinny arms, Mitzi felt like the world had shifted beneath her feet. She stumbled over her own feet and righted herself quickly.

"What are you doing?!" she screamed at him.

When he was a few feet in front of her, he stopped. Daichi bent over and put his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. "I'm... going with you..." He wheezed and put a hand against his chest. "Damn it!"

Mitzi stared at him. "Why?" she blurted out.

"You don't... want me to?!"

"I do!" she said. "But I'm just surprised. That you're actually here. You are actually here, right? I'm not having some weird hallucinations from my meds or something, am I?"

He coughed and finally straightened up. He took in a deep breath. "This is real," he said. "We're doing this... Indigo Plateau... One year..." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Just give me a second, okay? God damn it." He collapsed to the floor and leaned back on his hands.

"Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth," she told him.

"What?" He tried it. "It doesn't... help!"

"Yes it does!" she rolled her eyes. "I'm a runner, just trust me!"

He finally did as was told and she sat next to him on the ground. After a while, the trainers who'd been battling earlier approached them.

"Are you alright?" one of them asked. He was dark-skinned and had an Eevee perched on his shoulder. "Are you asthmatic? I have an inhaler," he said, jerking a thumb towards his back.

Mitzi shook her head at him. "He's just really out of shape."

"I'll... be okay soon," Daichi said. "Thanks, though."

The dark-skinned boy nodded. His friend, who was freckled and wore a backwards baseball cap, gestured to the route towards Viridian. "Should we get going?" he asked. The other boy nodded. Once they were sure that Daichi wasn't going to die, they headed off. Mitzi watched them walk down the road.

The two cousins sat there for another couple of minutes in silence until finally Daichi was breathing like a normal person. Mitzi asked him if he was okay and he nodded. She stood and reached out a hand to pull him up. Once he was standing, they stared at each other.

"You're sure about this?" she asked, her blue eyes wary. "There's no turning back from here. Once we're out there-"

"I've never been more sure about anything," he said, mimicking her words. She grinned from ear to ear. Together, they headed towards Pallet Town.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Lavender Town, Kanto<strong>

Damien Hawthorne had a lot of expectations when it came to how his life would play out. The sixteen-year-old son of two highly successful trainers, he'd been taught from birth to set the bar high and he expected it to stay there. So when he woke up late on that fated Friday morning, Damien knew immediately that his day was not going to go as planned.

Damien leaped out of bed and glared down at his one-year-old sister. She looked up at him, rosy-cheeked and with her bright red-hair done up in a little topknot. In her hands was his Dratini-shaped alarm clock.

"Devil Spawn," he addressed her. "I should have known."

She banged the clock on the floor, which popped off the Dratini's head. She smiled.

Damien entered the kitchen with his baby sister on his hip. His twelve-year-old sister was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal. Similar to himself, she was built long and lean. The main difference between them was Damien's black, almost blue, hair and her own dark red. She also had long legs that threatened to have all of the neighborhood boys knocking at their front door one day in the future, or so their Mother liked to joke.

But Damien didn't like to think about that. He would deal with it when the time came, which would hopefully be after he returned home.

She peered up at him above her purple glasses. "What?" she said, with an attitude that could only be that of a teen. Damien dropped the one-year-old in her lap and swiftly headed back to his room.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as he shut the door. She ran over and started banging on it. "It's your turn to watch her!" she shouted. The family's Persian looked up from her spot on the living room couch, but upon deciding that the situation would resolve itself, returned to her nap.

"No it's not, Jazz!" Damien shouted back. He was pulling clothes out of his drawers and changing so fast that he felt like he was breaking a record. "I'm leaving today! I have to catch my train in twenty minutes!"

"Oh yeah." His sister huffed, having forgotten. Also like Damien, she had the memory of a Magikarp. "Well, you'll never make it!" she said.

Damien ignored her as he pulled on his dark blue hiking backpack. The large, rectangular-shaped bag was a little unsightly, he had to admit, but at least he'd always be prepared. His father was the kind of person who liked to carry the whole world in his bag for "emergency situations" and his tendency to be over-prepared had rubbed off on his son.

He ran to the bathroom and brushed his teeth so fast that he made his gums bleed, then reached for his bottle of hair mousse. He quickly went to work styling his until it was spikey enough to suit his taste. Damien then stuffed the bottle and toothbrush into his bag and made a dash for the front door.

"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Jazz asked as Damien slipped on his sneakers by the front door.

"No time," he replied. He swung the door open and was halfway down the cobblestone path that led from his house to the street when he paused and doubled-back.

He grabbed Jazz by the chin and kissed her roughly on the cheek. "Hey! Gross!" She exclaimed. But when he pulled back and ruffled her hair, she made a face that looked a lot like she was going to cry. He gave his baby sister a kiss too and pulled away before she could grab onto the necklace around his neck.

"I'll see you in a few months," he told her. "Tell Mom and Dad I said bye. Wish me luck!" he shouted as he began running down the road.

Jazz pouted at the front steps. The toddler in her arms reached out in the direction that Damien had gone and made a pitiful cry.

"Quiet, Devil Spawn," she said solemnly. The Persian walked over and laid down next to them, consoling the baby by flicking its tail in her face. They all sat at the front steps and watched Damien run until they couldn't see him anymore.


	5. Our Trip to Pallet Town

**Pallet Town, Kanto**

"The town of new beginnings. Huh," Daichi said. They'd stopped at a book store on the way to Oak's Laboratory, or rather Daichi had dragged a protesting Mitzi to it. After twenty minutes of her banging on his back and telling him to hurry up, he'd exited the store with an almanac, a map, and a book titled "The Kanto Trainer's Guidebook". He was currently flipping through the different locations listed in it as they walked through town. "It says that this is where that famous guy was from."

"Red?" Mitzi asked. If she'd had Mightyena ears they would've perked right up. She'd had to walk this whole time through Pallet listening to Daichi spew random facts from his book and it was starting to bug her.

"Yeah. Apparently he's a big deal, or he used to be."

Pallet Town's buildings were widely spaced, so much so that there were times along the road where a building couldn't be seen in any direction. There was the occasional townsperson strolling by, and sometimes a pokémon would dash across an empty field, but for the most part the town was pretty quiet.

"He was like the ultimate trainer," Mitzi said. "They said he's seen every single pokémon in Kanto and Johto, and that he was undefeated or something."

"Was?"

"Yeah, this kid from Johto beat him!" Mitzi held up her fists and punched the air in front of her. "After that he just kinda vanished. As you do," Mitzi said. There was an awkward silence and Daichi cleared his throat.

"It says they just constructed a Pokémon Center here a few years ago," he continued. "That's the place where you heal your pokémon, right?"

Mitzi nodded. _At least he isn't talking about architecture anymore,_ she thought. He asked a lot of pokémon-related questions after that and Mitzi answered them. She enjoyed being the smart one, for once.

On top of being widely spaces, Pallet Town was also incredibly hilly. The terrain changed frequently and by the time they'd ascended the last hill before the laboratory, Daichi's legs were aching. Mitzi, however, seemed totally fine. "Don't your legs hurt at all?!" he exclaimed once they reached the top.

Mitzi just stared at him. Her eyes seemed to be asking "Really? Did you _really_ ask me that?"

He blushed out of embarrassment and looked away. Then he noticed a crowd of people in the distance and he squinted. "Do you see that?" he asked. Mitzi looked up. "What do you think is going on over there?"

She frowned. "Uhh. Maybe a happy send-off?"

As they approached the crowd of people, the two teens quickly realized that the crowd was anything but happy. Adults were yelling and one of them even held up a sign, but from the back of the crowd Mitzi and Daichi were unable to see what it said. They tried easing between the people and listening to the conversation.

"This isn't right!" shouted a woman right by Daichi's ear. He flinched. "Our children should be home where they belong! Not gallivanting through the continent!"

A pudgy man near the front of the crowd was in agreement with her. "Who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into?! All of these groups forming, they recruit young kids and lure them in with promises of- of strength, and of serving some noble cause!"

Another man in the left of the crowd answered him. "Did you hear about this team Flare nonsense?!"

"That was years ago!" someone else shot back. All eyes turned to a young man with dark green hair to his shoulders.

"History repeats itself!" the pudgy man from earlier shouted. "Listen to your elders! We have experience!"

"You have BIASES," the young man replied. "Just because some bad people did bad things doesn't mean that every single trainer will make those mistakes! The majority of us know right from wrong! You should have faith in your children to make the right choices!"

Mitzi had begun to push her way to the front of the crowd, leaving Daichi behind. He struggled and called out to her, so she huffed and grabbed his arm to yank him forwards. No one complained about being shoved, they were so riled up. The two teens realized that along with the green-haired man was a girl who looked around their age, with slanted brown eyes and her own green hair pulled back into a bun.

"Hah! What do kids know about making the right choices?" the pudgy man replied.

"These groups prey on the vulnerabilities of the naive," a woman, who was standing right behind Daichi and Mitzi, said. "Listen to reason, child. You have been fortunate thus far to not be preyed upon. Your sister, she is still young. Please, consider what's best for her-"

"Don't tell me what's best for my sister!" he snapped. He reached for one of the pokeballs clipped to his belt.

The young, green-haired girl put a hand on his shoulder. In her other arm she held a small Squirtle who stared at the crowd fearfully. "Let's just get out here," she said. "There's no reasoning with them."

Her brother grimaced, but finally relented. They started walking away. The crowd shouted after them and told them they would regret every becoming trainers. Daichi felt himself shrink away from their words, but he knew that it was having the opposite effect on Mitzi. Her shoulders were high and tense and Daichi worried that she was going to say something that would get the crowd even angrier, but thankfully she was interrupted.

A large man in his early thirties had descended the stairs from the laboratory and approached the crowd. He was darkly tanned, with brown hair and a matching beard. His size was impressive, with muscles bulging beneath the sleeves of his lab coat. He seemed more suited to wrestling than he did to working in a laboratory. A Natu was perched on his shoulder, flapping its immature wings angrily at the crowd.

The large man clapped his hands. "That's enough of this," he said. And though his voice was calm, it was also deep and heavy with authority. "Go on home, all of you."

The pudgy man from earlier broke away from the audience. "Professor Willow, don't you know what you are doing?! You are endangering the lives of these children!"

The large man raised up a hand. "These starter Pokémon are highly trained. They are more than capable of protecting their trainers, I assure you."

"That isn't the point!" The first woman replied. "It is ludicrous to even have these children running around in the first place! I have seen the trauma that the villainous groups have caused. I am from Sinnoh, and my daughter, she was lured in by the Galactics and..." The woman's voice cracked and she buried her face in her hands. Another woman put her arms around her and comforted her.

"We cannot blame the whole for the actions of a few," Professor Willow said, his heavy brow furrowing. "To train pokémon does not mean to be evil. In fact, I would argue that to be a trainer is to be of the highest quality of person. The raise these creatures, to grow with them side-by-side... It takes patience and understanding, and it takes love."

"Love, he says!' shouted the pudgy man. "Where was the love when Team Rocket burned down my home?! Or how about the time they tried to recruit my son and beat him within an inch of his life for saying 'no'?" He stomped forward and seemed ready to throw a punch at the large man. Suddenly, the Natu on Professor's shoulder raised its wings again and its eyes glowed a dark blue.

"Uh oh," Mitzi whispered. "I saw this on TV one time."

"What?" Daichi asked. "What's gonna happen?!"

"We better move," Mitzi said. She grabbed a fistful of Daichi's shirt and they burst forth and away from the crowd just as the Natu began it's attack. Daichi watched with wide eyes as the pudgy man was levitated in a sphere of pink light and suddenly thrown backwards into the crowd. The people up front fell against each other in screams and clouds of dust.

"Crap," Daichi said. "Good call."

The Professor noticed the two dark-haired teens standing near him. Daichi didn't know what to say, how to introduce himself, but Mitzi stepped up before he could worry too long. She stared up at the large man without hesitation and the Professor raised his eyebrows.

"You look a little familiar," he said. "Are you from around here?"

Mitzi shook her head. "No. I'm from Celadon and I'm here to get my starter Pokémon," she said, loud enough for the crowd to hear. The adults' attention instantly turned to the two teens. Daichi looked over and saw that the man who'd been holding the sign had fallen over in the confusion and dropped it. The sign stated "DOWN WITH TRAINERS" in angry, red paint. Daichi grimaced. _Fun,_ he thought.

"You sure we haven't met before?" the Professor continued, as though there wasn't an angry mob just a few feet in front of him. "I never forget a face, you know. " Mitzi just shrugged at him and the corners of the Professor's mouth tugged further down. "This is going to bother me all day," he said.

"You must be Mizuko," said a female voice. A small woman in a lab coat had descended the staircase from the laboratory, her heels clicking with every step. She was a few inches taller than Mitzi, which wasn't saying much, since both of them were still smaller than Daichi and completely dwarfed by the Professor. She had a short, blonde pixie cut and large hoops dangling from her ears. She held out a hand for Mitzi and they shook. "My name is Amelie. I corresponded with your friend Chiasa a few days ago."

The angry mob had gotten on their feet again but before they could protest, Amelie addressed them. "I won't have you all harassing anymore of my trainers. If you do not leave my sight within the next thirty seconds I WILL call the police! If that doesn't please you, you can discuss it with my associate," she said, pointing up at the sky. A large Fearow was circling them, it's mighty wings casting shadows over all of them. The adults looked furious, but the threats were enough for them to disperse and head back down the road.

Amelie sighed and put her hands on her hips. She signaled to her Fearow and it nodded before flying back towards the lab. She turned to the Professor. "You can't be so nice with them!" she scolded him. "That's why they keep coming back!"

"Your death threats are not much better," he replied, crossing his arms. He looked down at Mitzi. "Tell me Amelie, doesn't this one look familiar?"

Amelie peered into Mitzi's face and moved to push back her bangs. Mitzi grimaced and moved out of reach. "I supposed she does, a bit. Though I'm not the one with the photographic memory." Suddenly, Amelie noticed Daichi. "Who's this?"

"D-Daichi," he stammered, and mentally kicked himself.

"He's my cousin," Mitzi said with a grin. "He's starting his journey, too."

"A two for one deal!" The Professor said, clapping Daichi on his back. Daichi coughed. "It's always nice to see a family that trains together! What do you say we get you two all started then?" He thrust out his large, hairy hand and it engulfed Mitzi's entirely. "I'm Professor Willow, by the way. Sorry about all of this." He moved on to shake Daichi's hand and Daichi tried not to wince. The Professor and Amelie led the way up the stairs to the laboratory. Daichi and Mitzi looked at each other. They both shrugged and followed the adults.

* * *

><p><strong>Lavender Town, Kanto<strong>

**_Click. Chug. Click. Chug._**

Damien had missed his train. He'd pumped his legs as fast as possible, but he was just too late.

**_Click chug click chug!_**

He slowed to a jog and then a defeated walk as he watched the train leave without him. To top off the start of a terrible day, the next one wouldn't be for another two hours, well after his 11 o'clock appointment at Pallet Town. He wanted to break things. He wanted to shove his fist through the glass of the waiting room window. He was beyond pissed.

Damien sat down at a bench on the train platform and leaned forward, grabbing fistfuls of the hair that he'd spent so much time on fixing this morning. If only he hadn't stopped to do his hair, or brush his teeth, or even freaking pee. Then maybe he would have made it on time.

Damien's only other hope was that some other dumb kid would also miss his appointment that day, hopefully leaving a starter pokémon for him. At this point, he didn't care if it was a freaking Bulbasaur as long as he had a pokémon. He'd had his heart set on Fire-types ever since he was a child on Cinnabar Island and he'd dreamed of the day when he would have his very own Charizard. When his family had relocated to the ever gloomy Lavender Town, he'd only desired the large, flying dragon even more. Now that he'd finally been permitted to leave home, the day after his sixteenth birthday, he'd felt that his dreams were finally within grasp.

And yet, there he was, sitting at the ugly purple station platform waiting for a train that would arrive two hours after his appointment at the Lab. It was like the universe was playing some sort of cruel joke on him.

He thought of his mother, the eternal optimist, and tried to cheer himself up. Bulbasaurs weren't all bad, really. It would help him from the get-go at Cerulean Gym. After that he could probably trade it to a nice trainer (one who hopefully had a Charmander) and all his troubles would be gone. It was a decent enough plan!

_Still,_ he thought. Some stupid kid out there has _my Charmander!_

Damien had an angry knot in the pit of his stomach. The urge to break things would not leave him, no matter how he tried to calm himself down. He jumped up suddenly and decided that he would rather walk through depressing streets than sit at the platform, seething with rage. He stormed out of the station and hoped the exercise would work off his anger.

* * *

><p><strong>Pallet Town<strong>

The entrance room of the Laboratory was very similar to a living room, with various couches and a large television in the corner.

Mitzi glanced back at the entrance and noticed a large portrait hanging above the door. She nudged Daichi and they both paused to look at it. It was a painting of an older man, with tan skin, gray hair, and dark, heavy eyebrows. The corners of his brown eyes crinkled as he smiled kindly down upon them. The golden plaque beneath it read "Professor Oak: Our Founder".

Amelie and the Professor led the two teens down a hallway and opened a door which revealed a massive room with tiled floors and metal walls. The ceilings were high and there was a skylight, revealing that a flock of Pidgey were roosting there. The Laboratory was filled with computers and machines that neither of them could recognize and laboratory assistants were abundant. There was a loft at the far end of the room which housed various bookcases.

"Chi would have a field day here," Daichi said.

Mitzi laughed. "Like you're not interested in those books," she said. He didn't deny it.

They were lead into a room similar to the laboratory, but smaller. There was a large, cylindrical table in the center of the room and a couch off to the right. To the left sat a large metallic cabinet, a computer, and a videophone. A door at the far end of the room led to the outside. Amelie opened it and peered her head out. "Get ready to bring them in!" she shouted to someone. The Professor, meanwhile, made himself comfortable at the couch. He pulled a box of crackers out from behind the couch and started eating them.

Amelie returned and sat at the computer. "I'll start with you," she said to Mitzi, patting the chair next to her. Mitzi took the seat and Amelie looked at Daichi. "Since you're not scheduled, you would normally have to wait until the end of the day to see if we have any Starters left. However, we've already had a no-show this morning, which means it's your lucky day."

Daichi nodded vigorously, trying to show them how serious he was. "Of course, thank you."

Amelie gestured towards the couch. "You're welcome to have a seat. I'll register you after Mizuko." Daichi headed over to the couch and sat next to the professor, who offered him crackers. Not wanting to look rude, Daichi accepted. He began to wonder if the Professor didn't have more important things to do than watch himself and Mitzi fill out paperwork...

"Now then, do you have all the necessary documents?" Amelie asked.

Mitzi hurriedly pulled a copy of her birth certificate and her school records from her bag. She thrust them at Amelie. "I've been homeschooled since I was ten," she said in a rush, "So the grading is a little different but for the most part I'm on the same level as other kids my age so there shouldn't be too much of a difference or anything like that and I know that my English score and History score are kind of bad, but my teacher was kind of a jerk and he smelled weird, so every time he came over I just couldn't concentrate and the books were just so boring and I tried but-"

Amelie held up a hand. Mitzi gulped. Amelie flipped through the manila folder in silence, save for the sound of the Professor and Daichi eating crackers. She reached the part where the teachers commented on Mitzi's performance. Seemingly satisfied, she handed the folder back to Mitzi. "Your grades overall are good. You seem to show a lot of effort. Considering the circumstances illustrated here as the cause for your homeschooling, I'm quite impressed. Abysmal English grade aside, I'm sure that the effort you showed in your schooling will translate well into your training."

Mitzi stared at her hard, waiting for the words. "You're approved," Amelie said with a smile.

Mitzi jumped out of her chair and whooped. "Eat shit, Mr. Walters!" she shouted. Daichi choked on a cracker.

Amelie urged the young teen to sit again. She opened a drawer at the desk and pulled out a PokeDex. It was long horizontally and the top flipped open to reveal a screen and two buttons. Amelie plugged it into the computer and opened up a window.

"Mizuko Kazehaya," she said aloud as she typed. "Age is sixteen Date of birth, April 2nd. Hair, black. Eyes, blue. Height," Amelie looked her up and down. "Five even. Hometown?" she asked.

"Celadon City," Mitzi replied.

"A city girl!" The Professor said. "I'm from there myself. Have to say I do prefer the open land," he mused.

"Me too," Mitzi said. They grinned at each other as though sharing a secret.

"Now I need your photo. Just head on back to the lab and ask the redhead sitting at the front desk. She'll take it for you," Amelie said. Mitzi hurried out and Amelie gestured for Daichi to approach. He sat down awkwardly in the still-warm seat left by Mitzi. He pulled out his own paperwork and handed it to her.

She flipped through the paperwork with wide eyes. "How do you have a hundred in every single subject?!" she exclaimed, somewhat angrily.

Daichi started to sweat. "My town is small, so the curriculum is catered to the lowest level." He shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"You would blow a lot of these public school kids out of the water," Amelie said, surprised. "I wonder if your efforts aren't wasted by becoming a trainer. What are your plans for college, if you don't mind me asking? I have a friend who runs a research lab over on Cinnabar and she's always looking for new interns."

The Professor looked grim. "Amelie," he said sternly. "Remember, becoming a trainer is-"

"-As much a learning experience as a classroom," she finished, rolling her eyes. She handed Daichi back his papers and pulled out another PokeDex. She repeated the same process for him. "Age eighteen. Date of birth is September 13th. Hair, black. Eyes, tall are you?"

"Uh, 5'8, last time I had a physical. The doctor said I'm still growing."

"No, I don't doubt it," Amelie replied. "As for me, that ship sailed a long time ago. Hometown?"

"Cedarwood Village," Daichi replied. Amelie frowned at him. "It's off Route 1," he said hurriedly. "It's closer to Pallet than Viridian. It's really small."

Mitzi returned from the Laboratory just as Daichi headed towards it to take his photo. She plopped down on the couch with the Professor. His Natu hopped over to his other shoulder and peered down at Mitzi with creepy eyes. "Do you see something, Tom?" The Professor asked. The Natu just kept staring at Mitzi, it's narrow eyes entirely focused at the spot between her eyebrows. "They have prophetic abilities," The Professor told Mitzi, after reading her confused expression. "I currently have a project studying them. We're still trying to figure out how the neurons carry these messages of-"

Suddenly, the Natu screeched. Panicked, it pecked Mitzi on the forehead and hopped away, out the open door. The Professor jumped up and chased after it, bumping into Amelie's chair and sending her rolling a few inches away. She looked up at Mitzi and the teen stared back. "Did he see something bad?" Mitzi asked, a hand to her forehead.

"Don't take it personally," Amelie replied, rolling back to the computer and unhooking the PokeDex's. "It does that occasionally. I think the Natu is seriously disturbed."

"But the Professor said it sees the future."

"Inklings. It gets inklings of the future."

Daichi returned. He looked at Mitzi funny as she rubbed her forehead, but before he could ask, another Laboratory assistant entered the room holding two pokeballs. He handed them to Amelie. "I just saw the Professor chasing that Natu again," he said.

"It had another fit," Amelie replied. "Nearly pecked the poor girl's eye out," she said, gesturing to Mitzi. The assistant left and Amelie approached the cylindrical table. She gestured for Daichi and Mitzi to approach. "Now then, here are the two Starters we have left for today," she said, and handed each of them a pokéball. "Would you two like to do the honors?"

Mitzi grinned widely. She tapped the pokéball and it enlarged in her hand. "Go, Pokémon!" she said. Daichi quickly followed suit. Flashes of light emerged from the Pokeballs and they popped open. The light shot down to the table and two shapes quickly took form. Mitzi's took the form an orange, bipedal lizard, with a round head, short arms, and yellow underside. It had bright, teal colored eyes and a healthy flame at the end of its tail. It sat down and yawned.

Daichi's took the form of a green, four-legged creature with the dark green bulb of a plant on its back. It had pointy ears, eyes like rubies, and green spots on its legs and forehead. The largest spot on its forehead was shaped into a perfect diamond. When it smiled at them, pointy little canine teeth revealed themselves.

"There's no Squirtle," Daichi said.

Mitzi nodded, but she didn't seem disappointed.

She approached the Charmander and held her hand out to it. It sniffed once and allowed Mitzi to stroke under its chin. She moved to the Bulbasaur, whose rear end was wiggling as it shifted from paw to paw in excitement. It hurriedly pressed into Mitzi's hand and demanded to be scratched behind the ears. "Bulba!" it exclaimed, once she found the right spot. Suddenly the Charmander stood up and moved towards Mitzi. It tugged on her shirt, wanting attention. Now that Mitzi was distracted with the Charmander again, the Bulbasaur caught Daichi's gaze. It suddenly released two vines from beneath its bulb and tugged Daichi closer with them.

"Oof!" he exclaimed as he hit the side of the table. The Bulbasaur hopped up on its rear feet and put its front paws on Daichi's stomach.

Daichi had never had much contact with pokémon. Aside from avoiding Krabbys at the beach and chasing that damn Rattata out of his mother's garden, his experience with them was relatively limited. It must have shown, because Amelie encouraged him to pet the Bulbasaur. He looked down and it was still peering up at him with wide, red eyes. Slowly, he set his large hand on the pokémon's forehead. He rubbed the diamond-shaped spot and the pokémon smiled. Daichi found himself smiling back.

"Well," Amelie said, putting her hands on her hips. "I guess that settles it."

* * *

><p><strong>Saffron City, Kanto<strong>

"Calliope!" screamed the cleaning maid. "Where on earth do you think you're going?!"

The seventeen-year-old stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around slowly and faced the large, brick mansion before her. "Um...Just for a stroll! I won't be long!"

The cleaning maid, who was as fearsome as she was wide, stomped down the ridiculously long staircase and towards the teen. Callie wondered for a moment if she had enough time to escape while the woman descended the stairs, but she knew if she made a break for it that there would just be guards sent after her. She stood rooted to the spot and cursed at herself for being caught so easily. She'd been so sure that no one was watching her!

"Mr. Beru has given us all strict instructions to keep you on the premises. You are about thirty years too late to be trying to pull the wool over my eyes!" the woman said. She grabbed Calliope by the elbow and dragged her back to the mansion. Callie quickly shoved her train ticket into the pocket of her blue summer dress. Defeated, the young teen let herself be dragged back to her prison. They entered the large double doors to the entrance of her home. She was dragged across the ornate receiving room and down the hallway to the living room with the plush, red carpet and black leather couches. The woman discarded the teen there and told her to stay put before leaving, locking the door behind her.

Callie was not pleased.

She paced around the unnecessarily large room. She stopped before a mirror that hung just by the door and rearranged her straw boater hat. Her ash blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, with a few wisps framing her delicate face. She toyed with the strands of hair and checked her eyeliner again. Then Callie put her hands on her hips and continued pacing the living room. At last, the door opened.

"Daddy!" Calliope shouted. She ran over to the man who had entered. He was short, but with broad shoulders and a severe brow. His black hair was starting to pepper with gray and he had worry lines around his mouth. He was flanked at both sides by bodyguards, two men in dark black suits who most likely had concealed weapons beneath them. He looked very distracted and was speaking into a Bluetooth hooked on his ear. Callie impatiently waited for him to finish. Finally, he bid the other person farewell and touched his finger to a button, ending the call.

"What is this I hear about you leaving home?" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Daddy, please-"

"This is no time to be playing games! Don't you realize that these are stressful times for everyone? These attacks against the Chairpeople just aren't letting up and I can't be worrying about you all the time."

"Just listen to me, please. If I don't hurry now I'll miss my appointment in New Bark Town!"

"You are still going on about this?!" he said. " Becoming a trainer- it isn't what you think it is. These are dangerous times! There is something terrible coming and we are trying to quell it, but it's been difficult. You should know better than anyone that this is not the time to be entertaining such foolish notions."

Callie actually growled. She grabbed on tightly to the strap of her purple bag. "This is my dream! It's not foolish! You already denied me public school and you didn't even want to hear about me going away to college! So I conceded! I said 'Okay Daddy, I will just become a trainer for a few years and see what's out there, like normal people do." She stomped her foot. "You. Said. Yes! You can't just take it back!"

"You were just a child, Calliope! I didn't know that you were serious..."

"Oh my god, Daddy. This was last year!"

Suddenly, his Bluetooth began beeping. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I just don't have time for this." He turned around and answered the call, leaving a furious Callie in his wake.

As Mr. Beru returned to his office and answered two more phone calls, he was entirely unaware of his daughter climbing the staircase that led to her grand bedroom. He was also oblivious when she opened her bedroom window, climbed down the maple tree just outside her home, and disappeared into the maze-like garden before anyone could catch her.


	6. Our First Pokemon

**Oak's Laboratory, Pallet Town**

After teaching Daichi and Mitzi to use their PokeDex's, Amelie put a hand on both of their shoulders and looked at them seriously.

"We haven't had many trainers the past few years, as you can both imagine. I want you two to go out there and live to the fullest. This is an amazing trip you're about to start. However, I also want you two to realize how important you are to Kanto right now." She looked over her shoulder to the open door.

"The world of training isn't doing so well right now. There's been a lot of talk and... Well, it doesn't matter, I guess." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, glanced at the floor, then back up at them. "The Professor, he doesn't show it, but he is ...worried about the future, for trainers everywhere. We all are. That angry mob out there is just a piece of what you guys might have in store for you." She released them. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you guys or anything, but I want you both to be prepared for what you may face."

Mitzi nodded. "I'm not scared of them," she said, squaring her small shoulders.

Amelie smiled a little ruefully. "No, I don't think you are. That's actually what worries me. You remind me of myself, actually." She looked at Daichi. "You'll look out for her, won't you?"

Daichi, despite the knot he felt in his stomach at being spoken to so seriously, took the words to heart. He put on a determined face. "Of course," he said.

"If anything, I'll be the one saving him," Mitzi said. Daichi rolled his eyes.

Amelie managed a small laugh, despite the serious tone of the conversation. "You'll take care of each other. You and your pokémon." She crouched down to look at the Charmander and Bulbasaur that sat obediently in front of their new trainers. "Be good, you two," she said, putting a hand on their heads. She rose again and offered her hand for both teens to shake. "I hope to see you guys at the Indigo Plateau some day."

"You will," Mitzi replied. She and Daichi exited the lab, brand new pokémon in tow, and made their way through Pallet Town and towards Route 1.

* * *

><p><strong>Saffron City<strong>

Calliope was many things that people didn't like. She was rich, so girls assumed she was pampered and delicate. She was smart and outspoken, so guys like to call her a bitch. She was also pretty, and really, who _doesn't_ hate a pretty girl? But of all the things that she was criticized for, of all the names that people liked to call her, Carlliope Beru was most definitely _not_ a quitter. She was raised better than that. Therefore, she couldn't _really_ be blamed for running away, could she? After all, she was just being herself. A non-quitter.

Right?

As she walked towards the Saffron City train station, she couldn't help wondering what her father was up to. She hated herself for it, but trying to think of anything else was difficult when Norman, the Head of Staff at her home, was walking next to her. When she looked over at him, Norman just smiled his crinkly old man smile.

Finally, she came to a stop. "Is this really necessary?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

She sighed and continued walking. "You can't stop me, Norman."

"I had no intention of stopping you," he said.

Well, that threw her for a loop. As they turned the corner, she snuck another glance at him. His profile hadn't changed in all the years that she'd known him. He still had those crinkly eyes, long bumpy nose, and lips curved upwards in a knowing smile. "So, what are you following me for?" she asked.

"It's my job to make sure you arrive to all your destinations safely. You didn't think I could just watch you climb over the fence and not pursue you?" he asked. She didn't reply. Though she loved Norman and his endearing little old man charms, she also knew full well that he had a handle on every staff and ongoings within the Beru Mansion. It was a fact that had intimidated her frequently when she was younger and sneaking out to parties with the neighborhood boys. Though Norman had never ratted her out to her father, she knew that he had enough dirt to have her father chain her in her bedroom until her thirtieth birthday.

They stopped in front of the dark, grey and white train station. Business people were running around everywhere, making her feel a little small. A large, square clock on the front of the roof told her that it was nearly noon. Callie turned on her heels suddenly and put her hands on her hips. She give Norman her angriest stare for a solid ten seconds until at last he broke. He put his hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine, you've caught me!" he said with a chuckle. He took both her hands in both of his. "Calliope. I've had the privilege of watching you grow into such a smart and lovely young woman. I know that your mother, from whatever afterlife there is, is looking down upon you with pride." Callie turned beet red. She hadn't ben expecting that. She tried to pull her hands away, angered by the talk of her mother, but he wouldn't let her.

"Now, now. None of that. I raised your mother, and I've had the privilege of raising you, too, so I know with every beat of my heart that it's true," he told her. Tears welled in Callie's eyes and she blinked rapidly to keep them away. If Norman kept this up, her mascara would start running.

"I always knew that the day would come when you'd fly the nest. And seeing as you'll be all the way in Kanto by the time your birthday comes and goes, I figured that this would be an appropriate time to give you your early birthday present." He reached into his pocket.

"Norman-"

"I know that she isn't much now," he told her, squeezing something tightly in his large, wrinkly hand, "But she is smart and she is kind. My daughter raised this little one's mother, and I have faith in my Lorelei. I hope that she will look after you in my stead."

He dropped a yellow Pokéball in her hand.

Callie's eyes widened and she looked up at Norman again. "You- Norman, you-!"

"If you happen to meet Lorelei on your travels, be sure to give her love from me," Norman said with a smile.

Before she could say anything, the loudspeakers crackled and came alive. "All aboard! The 12:05 train to New Bark Town is getting ready to leave the station! I repeat, all aboard!"

"Norman," Callie repeated. She couldn't find the words. "I-"

"You're going to miss your train, sweetheart," he told her, ushering her forwards. "Off you go, now. Don't come back until you've spread your wings to every corner of this continent."

Callie let herself be guided all the way to the platform, but before she entered the train, she turned and threw her arms around the old man. He chuckled and pat her on the back. "Dear little Poppy," he said, soothing her barely-contained sobs. At last she released him. With a final kiss on the cheek, they parted.

As Callie boarded the train, she suddenly realized that Norman had said "_You'll be all the way in Kanto by the time your birthday comes."_ How on Earth would he have known that? She'd been telling the whole staff and family that she was going to New Bark Town in order to throw them off her scent! In reality, she'd been planning on transferring trains at New Bark and heading towards Viridian City.

So how did the old man know that it was all a ruse?! Callie took her seat hurriedly and looked out the window at Norman.

"How did you know?!" she shouted at him, her fingers splayed against the glass. And even though he couldn't possibly have heard her, he smiled.

The train slowly pulled out of the station and Callie was left alone. After checking around her to make sure no one was looking, she took out the yellow pokéball and released her first pokémon on the seat opposite of her. It was a sheep-like pokémon, with a dark blue face and limbs. It stretched out and shook its fluffy, yellow coat. "Reep!" it exclaimed, looking at her.

Callie was overcome with emotion again. "Hi," she said weakly, then quickly wiped her eyes and straightened up. "I'm Callie. Norman, he gave you to me. Do you remember him?"

The Mareep nodded enthusiastically. It hopped over to the seat next to her and peered up at her with round, black eyes.

"I guess you and me are partners now," she said. The Mareep let out a tiny shock of electricity, which Callie took to be a good sign since it was smiling up at her. "I promise that I'm going to take good care of you. You and me, we're going to see the whole world together. We're going to help people and Pokémon everywhere. How does that sound?"

"Mareep!" the pokémon exclaimed again. Suddenly, Callie saw the ticket collector approaching down the train cart.

"Shit," she mumbled. "We'll get to know each other later, okay?" She returned the pokémon quickly and settled back into her seat.

"Ticket please," the collector asked in a monotone voice. Callie handed him the ticket. "Transferring?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm going to Viridian City," she said. Callie was smiling harder than she ever had before. It felt like everything in the world was finally starting to go her way. She was over the moon.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Pallet Town, Kanto<span>**

Damien was having a terrible day, but he couldn't let himself lose hope. He stood outside the door to the lab, breathing hard from how fast he'd run. He knocked on the large, oak double-doors. A redhead in a pink dress shirt and black slacks answered. She peered up at him suspiciously. "Oak laboratories," she stated, looking him up and down.

"I know where I am," he said. "I'm here to pick up a Starter Pokémon."

She frowned at him and shut the door in his face. "Amelie!" he heard the girl shout.

The door was opened again, this time fully, and by Amelie. "Are you Damien?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Look, I know I'm late, but I was hoping that maybe you had a pokémon left. Honestly, I'll take anything you have."

She leaned on her right leg and crossed her arms. "Unfortunately, all of the Starter Pokémon for this month are taken. If you'd like to come back in July-"

He slapped the door, which admittedly stung, and tried to give her his most serious face. "I need one now. You don't understand. If I don't leave in June, I just... It won't be good, okay? Can't you talk to someone? Anyone?"

Amelie pursed her lips. "I don't appreciate being intimidated," she warned him.

Damien winced and stepped back. "Please," he pleaded.

Amelie tapped her heels on the hardwood floor. "I think I know someone. Come in," she said, stepping back. Damien entered the lab and Amelie shut the doors behind him. "Take a seat over there," she said, gesturing to the plush red couches that surrounded a television. Damien watched her as she walked over to the desk where the redheaded intern was sitting, buried behind a pile of paperwork. They spoke about something in hushed tones. The intern picked up the phone on her desk and began dialing someone.

Amelie returned to Damien. "I know a breeder in town who may have some Pokémon around the right age to be Starters," she told him. "Keep in mind that these pokémon are actually bred for Contests. Therefore, they may be a little different than the ones that you're used to-"

"My mom was a Coordinater," Damien interrupted her. "It's ok. Really. Whatever's available. I just really need to become a trainer now."

Amelie nodded. She turned her attention to the television infront of them. The recording of an old Pokémon League competition was playing. A dark-haired teen was battling against a blonde girl. He called out a Dragonite and she called out a Sylveon. Damien and Amelie watched the battle in silence. Suddenly Professor Willow entered, the Natu perched on his shoulder once again. He walked over to them and Damien, upon seeing him, bolted upright. He nearly saluted the man, he was so shocked to see him.

"P-Professor Willow," Damien said, utterly star struck.

"That's me," the Professor stated, shaking his hand. "Who are you?"

"Damien Hawthorne," Amelie answered for him. "He's here to pick up a Starter but he's late. We're calling Joshua to see if she can pull a favor."

The Professor nodded. He looked over Damien's shoulder at the television set. "Who's playing?" he asked. "Look like an old one! What is that, 2007?"

"I think so. That's Farah," Amelie said, referring to the blonde girl. "She came to us for a Bulbasaur, if I remember right. The other one, I don't recognize."

"That's Ryuuji Kazehaya," Damien said, leaping at the chance to impress the Professor. "He made it pretty far that year. He preferred Dragon-types, but he had a whole bunch of other types, too. He had a Charizard, a Nidoqueen, a Magmar, a Mightyena, a Salamence..." Damien listed them off like a pro.

"Ryuuji," the Professor said. Suddenly, it was as though a light bulb went off in his head. "That's where I recognized that little girl from earlier. She's the spitting image of him!"

"Really?" Amelie replied, surprised. She looked back at the television and her eyebrows raised in realization. "You're right. She must have been his sister."

"Ryuuji had a sister?" Damien interrupted. "He never mentioned that in the competition."

"That is strange, isn't it? Usually the competitors make big speeches thank their families and whatnot. She became a trainer earlier this morning," The Professor replied. "She chose a Charmander as well, didn't she? Just like her brother had, all those years ago," he said. He put his hand on his chin and scratched his beard as the memories came back to him.

_Charmander?!_ Damien thought, a flash of anger rising inside him. Now he knew who had taken it! _That girl better_ _hope we never run into each other,_ he thought. _Her ass is toast._

"Strange coincidence, isn't it?" Amelie said.

"Nothing in this world is coincidence," the Professor replied. The Natu on his shoulder chirped its agreement.

Suddenly the redhead approached them all. "Joshua has a few pokémon that are the right age," she began, "However, he said he's only going to give on up if Amelie comes by personally to get it."

Amelie pulled an annoyed face. "That jerk," she mumbled. She sighed and turned to Damien. "Well alright, then. C'mon, let's get you registered. Then we'll head over to the ranch together."

Damien grinned and followed Amelie into the Lab.

* * *

><p>Joshua's home was a short ten minute walk from the Lab. Damien and Amelie approached the large ranch-style house and knocked on the door.<p>

The first thing that Damien noticed was that Joshua was an extremely tall man. He himself was nearly six feet, so Joshua had to have been at least six foot five. The second thing that Damien noticed was that Joshua had a massive crush on Amelie. His face had turned bright pink when he saw her and had split into a massive grin. He had dark, curly hair and a five-o'-clock shadow.

"Hello Josh," Amelie said, trying to retain her professionalism. "Thank you again for seeing us on such short notice."

"Oh, it's no trouble," he said hurriedly. "You know I'd swim all the way to Sinnoh for you."

Amelie blushed red and cleared her throat. "This is Damien Hawthorne," Amelie said. "He's here to collect a Starter pokémon."

Joshua shook his hand. "'Sup!" he said.

"...'Sup." Damien replied.

"The pokémon are out back. C'mon," he said. He led the way to the back of the house and opened the back door. His massive yard was fenced off and various pokémon were out on the field. A twelve-year-old boy with dark, curly hair was sitting on the steps of the back porch, eating a sandwich.

"This is my son, Daxton," he said. "Dax, this is Damien. He's getting a pokémon today."

"'Sup," Daxton said with a nod.

"Where are the pokémon I asked you to get?" Josh asked. Daxton pointed to a small, circular enclosure to their left. Amelie and Damien followed Josh to it.

"These are the only ones I could find who are the right age," Josh said. He gave Damien a nudge forward. "Go on then, see who you like!"

Damien stepped closer and peered into the enclosure. Inside, there were five pokémon: A Poliwag, a female Nidoran, a Bellsprout, a Cleffa, and a Growlithe.

To say he was disappointed was an understatement. Still, Damien couldn't afford to be picky. His eyes were drawn automatically to the Growlithe. It looked healthy, with a bright and shiny coat. However, there was something a little off about it.

"Isn't that Growlithe kind of... pretty?" he asked.

Joshua lifted the Growlithe out of the enclosure and set it in front of him. "Well, she was bred for her good looks," he said. He wasn't joking, either. Where most Growlithe were a little scruffy, this one had a long, luxurious cream mane on the top of its head and from its chest. Its tail was extremely smooth and she peered up at Damien with a haughty look on its face. "Don't underestimate Junebug, she's a real firecracker!"

Damien chewed the inside of his lip. It was a fire-type, after all. Terrible name and annoying prettiness aside, Arcanines weren't bad, so he could've done much worse. "I'll take her," Damien said. The Growlithe barely gave him any acknowledgement. Joshua put the Growlithe inside of her pokéball and handed her to Damien.

"Junebug's all yours!" Joshua said with a grin.

_Optimism,_ thought Damien, swallowing his disappointment. _Optimism!_

* * *

><p><em>Monday, June 8th<em>

**Route 1**

It was supposed to be a simple trail. It looked easy on the map, at least.

So why, on only the third day of their journey, were they already lost?!

"ARGH!" Mitzi yelled. She kicked a bush repeatedly, sending twigs and leaves flying everywhere. Daichi was kneeling a few paces behind her, spreading out his map flat with his hands. "I. HATE. THIS. ROUTE!" she screeched. She doubled back and stomped through a patch of grass that reached her knees. She started kicking her feet up everywhere. Uprooted weeds and clumps of dirt flew as she did this. "THERE AREN'T EVEN ANY POKEMON HERE!"

Daichi glanced up at her. "You know that's not helping, right?"

"I don't care!" she shouted back. "It makes me feel better!"

Her Charmander, who had yet to be named, was sitting next to Daichi and watching his trainer throw her temper tantrum with interest. The Charmander hadn't seemed to dislike Mitzi, but it hadn't been overtly affectionate with her either, at least not when compared to Daichi's Bulbasaur. The grass pokémon was currently tucked in the small space between Daichi's knees and the map, snoozing the day away.

After hurting herself by trying to break a fallen tree branch with her bare hands, Mitzi stomped back over to the group and dropped to the ground in front of Daichi with a pout. She started digging out a splinter with her fingernails.

"Okay?" he asked.

She just sat there and pouted at him. But she wasn't yelling anymore, so Daichi took that as a good sign.

"Look," he said, pointing at a spot on the map. "I think this is where we messed up. Instead of heading north, like we were supposed to, we veered just a little bit too north-west."

"The sign on the road must have been outdated," Mitzi grumbled, still picking at splinters. This part of the trail was particularly dark, due to the tightly crowded Maple trees, and she was having difficulty getting them out.

"Yeah, I thought it looked a little old," Daichi replied, folding up his map..

"Do you think other kids got lost, too?"

"It's possible," he said. "We haven't really seen many people, have we?"

Mitzi shook her head. Daichi glanced at the bloody spots on her hands and sighed. He opened his backpack and handed her his antibiotic cream . She spread a generous amount and handed it back to him.

"C'mon, Charlie," Mitzi announced as she stood. Both the Charmander and Daichi stared at her. "What?" she said, referring to the choice in name. "No good?"

Daichi shrugged. He nudged his Bulbasaur awake and the pokémon yawned before hopping up. It trot along with Mitzi's Charmander a few paces in front of the teens.

"Charlie's okay," Daichi said, trying to make her feel better.

"You hate it!" she accused.

"Does it matter what I think?"

"It matters if I sound totally lame calling that out in battle," Mitzi replied. "It'd be easier if I actually knew what gender it was," she said, looking her Charmander's back as it walked along. "It was easy to tell with Halo, since he had a-"

"HELP!"

All four of them stopped dead in their tracks. Mitzi and Daichi looked at each other.

"Hello?!" Mitzi called out.

"HELP ME!" screamed the voice again. It echoed throughout the forest, meaning that neither of the teens could pinpoint its location. However, Daichi's Bulbasaur's tiny ears pricked upwards at the shout. It glanced back at its trainer. "_Bulba!_" it told them before dashing off.

"Wait!" Daichi shouted.

Daichi, Mitzi, and the Charmander chased after it.

* * *

><p>They were heading North again, back through the trail that was overgrown with shrubs and low-hanging tree branches. Just when they they'd lost sight of the Bulbasaur, it called out to them. They approached a small clearing where a purple tent was set-up. Just outside of the tent sat a young teen with dark hair and big, green eyes. A small, pink Snubble was cowering behind her. As soon as the two dark-haired teens emerged from the forest, the girl's eyes widened.<p>

"HELP ME!" she shouted at them.

"With what?" Mitzi asked, looking around the empty clearing.

The girl pointed at the tent infront of her. "IN THERE! IT'S THE MOST DISGUSTING THING! PLEASE!"

"Oh!" Mitzi shouted. "It must be a Pokémon! Dee, leave this one to me!" she shouted, pushing him backwards unnecessarily. He grimaced.

"Go get 'em, Flamey!" Mitzi commanded. Her Charmander hesitated at the name, but dove into the tent. There was rustling and rolling around untill finally the Charmander emerged, holding something small and green in its hands.

"Char," it said, presenting the little green thing to Mitzi. It had big, yellow eyes and a pink two-pronged antennae on its forehead. It wriggled around unhappily in Charmander's grip, revealing a yellow underside and suction cups in the place of feet.

"What the hell?" Daichi said. He'd never seen anything like it, at least not up close.

"It's a Caterpie!" Mitzi shouted gleefully. "Alright! This is great!"

Daichi pulled out his PokeDex. He kneeled down and pointed it at the wiggling green thing. "** Scanning**," the PokeDex said. "**Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. It's defining features are the suction cups on it's underside, used to scale great heights with ease. The antennae on its head emits a terrible stench when frightened. This pokémon is ideal for new trainers, due to its easy capture ability and its rapid rate of evolution.**" The PokeDex beeped, signaling the end of the summary.

"I don't care what it does!' The girl shouted. "Just get rid of it!"

Mitzi ignored her. "We should weaken it first," she said. "Flamey, knock it out!... Uh, wait, don't burn it or anything! Just... Punch it, maybe?"

The Charmander hesitated. It gave the Caterpie a firm conk on the head with its tiny fist and the Caterpie stopped wriggling around. Mitzi threw her pokéball at it and the Caterpie was sucked inside with a definitive 'click'.

"It seems kind of weak," Daichi said. He couldn't understand why his cousin, who was always so gung-ho about strength and beating people up, would get so excited over a tiny green worm. "It couldn't even defend itself. Why catch it?"

"You heard the PokeDex," Mitzi replied, picking up her pokéball. "These are great first pokémon! You shouldn't underestimate it just by its looks." She pointed the PokeDex proudly at him. "You should catch one when we hit Viridan Forest!"

"I think I'll pass," Daichi mumbled. They'd both forgotten the girl sitting on the ground beside them and she cleared their throat to get their attention again.

"Thank you guys so much!" she said. Her gaze in particular was focused on Daichi.

"I just HATE BUGS," the girl continued, standing up and brushing off her yellow skirt. She then flattened her already-straight hair and kept the full force of her green eyes on him. "I just saw it there and I panicked, and poor Lily here, she's never even battled before," she said, gesturing to her Snubble which still hid behind her. Daichi's Bulbasaur tried to approach the Snubble and encourage it to say "hello". The Snubble stubbornly clung to her owner's leg, leaving the rejected Bulbasaur to return to Daichi's side.

"Lily?" Mitzi repeated, squinting at the space between the Snubble's legs. Offended, it hid furthur behind its trainer's leg "How did you find out she was a girl?"

The girl seemed a little disappointed to have to turn her attention to Mitzi, but answered her anyway. "You can check that with your PokeDex. That's how I found out that Lily was a girl, anyway."

"Oh!" Mitzi exclaimed. She hurriedly pulled hers out and pointed it at her Charmander. She fiddled with the settings and pressed a button.

"**Scanning... This is a male Charmander!" **her PokeDex announced proudly.

"So you're a boy!" Mitzi exclaimed. She kneeled down to it's level. "I'll have to think of a really cool name for you then!" She said, patting it on the head. She looked up at Daichi. "Why don't you scan Bulbasaur?"

He pulled out his PokeDex and Mitzi helped him adjust the settings. He pointed it at the Bulbasaur, who smiled up happily at the two teens.

"**Scanning..." **the metallic voice repeated. "**This is a female Bulbasaur!"**

Daichi idly wondered what he was going to do with not one, but _two_ highly energetic girls travelling with him. Still, when the Bulbasaur walked over and asked to be pet, he obliged.

Suddenly, the girl approached them with slow, easy footsteps. She held out a hand to Daichi. "My name's Hannah," she said, batting her eyes.

"Daichi," he replied, shaking her hand.

"That's such a unique name," Hannah said. When she didn't release his hand, Daichi extracted it from hers.

"I'm Mitzi," Mitzi said. "Not that anyone cares."

"So you're a trainer, too?" Daichi asked.

Hannah nodded. "I've just started out, though. Me and Lily have only been on the road for a few days. How about you?"

"We're the same," Daichi replied. He was utterly oblivious to the way that Hannah pushed her hair in front of her and ran her fingers through it.

"Hold up," Mitzi said. "You're a trainer and you're scared of _bugs? _Bug Pokemon are beyond common, you know."

"I know!" she replied. "But that doesn't mean I have to like them!"

Suddenly, Mitzi was struck with an idea. "They're not all that scary," she replied, a mischievous glint in her eye. "In fact, they can be pretty cool! Just look!"

Mitzi released her newly caught Caterpie and all of the blood drained from Hannah's face. The Catepie was still a little sleepy from being knocked out early, but raised its head and peered at the girl curiously. It made a small sound of acknowledgement.

"NOOO!" the other girl screamed, jumping backwards. She grabbed her bag in one arm and her Snubble in the other before dashing off. She ran so fast that she kicked up dust as she went and was gone before either cousin could stop her.

Mitzi frowned. "Good luck in Viridian Forest!" she shouted at her angrily. "There are a lot more bugs than this one!"

"Was that really necessary?" Daichi said disapprovingly.

Mitzi shrugged. She picked up the Caterpie and held it close. "I think you're cool," she told it. "What do you say, Caterpie? You, me, and Charmander are gonna be the best of the best! I'll help you grow big and strong!"

The Caterpie cocked its head at the strange girl, but finally nodded happily. Mitzi grinned back and returned it to its Pokéball.

Daichi approached the large purple tent. "She left her tent," he said, opening the flap and peering inside. "Looks like she took all her stuff, though. That's good, at least."

"Should we take it?" Mitzi said, gesturing to the tent.

"Mizuko!" Daichi shouted at her.

"What?!" she replied, raising her hands. "I'm just saying! If she doesn't come back for it, it's just gonna go to waste! We're gonna need one when it rains!"

"We're not stealing the girl's tent," Daichi replied, narrowing his eyes.

"It's not stealing, Dee," she said, moving towards it. "Think of it as recycling!"

He put a hand out to stop her.

"We're not taking it. That's final."

She crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine," she replied. "Your girlfriend can keep her crummy tent."

"My... what?"

"Let's get out of here," Mitzi said. She started walking off in a random direction when Daichi stopped her.

"The trail is this way," he said, walking in the opposite direction.

With one last, mournful look at the purple tent, Mitzi followed Daichi back into the denser parts of the forest.


	7. Our Trouble in Viridian City

_June 9th_

**Virdian City**

Mitzi and Daichi hadn't ran into a single soul on the rest of Route 1. It was well into the night when the teens finally reached their destination.

When they saw the welcoming billboard that declared "Viridan City" in big brown letters, they had nearly cried in relief. All too eager to leave the dullness of the Route behind them, they ran towards the glowing lights of the town below. Viridian City was a little more bustling than Pallet, but still relatively deserted. There weren't many people around and the residential streets were exceptionally quiet. They entered the shopping district and, following the information from Daichi's guidebook, they located the Viridian City Pokémon Center.

It was a large, dome-shaped building with two floors. The white paint on the walls were chipping and the flower boxes outside looked like they hadn't been tended to in forever. However, the lights were still on and lit up the street like a beacon to weary travelers everywhere.

They approached the large, glass doors. However, they soon realized that there were no handles on them. They didn't seem to be automatic either, proven when Mitzi stood before them and jumped up and down in vain.

"Are they closed?" Daichi asked.

"_Char_!"

Mitzi and Daichi looked over at Charmander. He was standing at the wall next to the doors a pointing at a rectangular shaped scanner.

"Oh!" Mitzi shouted. She ran over to it and pulled out her Pokedex. She pointed her PokeDex's scanner at the one against the wall and after short beep, the doors opened. They all rushed inside in case the doors wanted to closed quickly.

The lobby floor was off white, with pale green wall paper and various little paintings of pokemon hanging on the walls. The place was spotlessly clean and looked as though there hadn't been any visitors in a while. There wasn't a single person or pokemon to be seen.

"Helloooo?" Mitzi called out. Her voice echoed around the lobby.

Suddenly, someone jerked upwards from behind the desk. "Whozzair?!" shouted a girl. She looked to be in her early twenties, with dark pink hair cut in a Bob and freckles dotting her cheeks. She wore dark green scrubs and a nametag pinned to her shirt. Her sleepy blue eyes finally focused on the teens in front of her. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

She straightened herself up and wiped the drool from her chin. "Welcome to the Viridian City Pokemon Center!" She said. "I'm nurse Samantha. You can call me Sammy. How can I help you?"

"Hi! We're looking for a place to rest for the night?"

"Oh, of course" Nurse Sammy said. "We have plenty of rooms available. Is the standard double okay?" Mitzi nodded. "Great! And how about your pokemon? Do any of them need treatment?!" She asked a little too excitedly.

"Uhh," Mitzi looked at Daichi. "Not really," Mitzi replied.

Nurse Sammy sighed. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. I'm guessing you guys haven't done much battling lately, huh?"

She was spot-on with the assumption. Sammy looked so disappointed to be without work that Daichi chimed in.

"We have been walking a lot," Daichi said. "It probably wouldn't hurt to help them rest up."

"Of course!" Sammy exclaimed. "We'll look at them right away!" She walked over to the hallway forwards the right. "GIGI!" she shouted, "WE HAVE LIVE ONES!"

A Chansey trotted out from the hallway, pushing a gurney in front of her. "_Chansey!_" it exclaimed.

"You can just put your pokémon up here and Gigi and I will buzz your room when they're ready!"

The Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Caterpie were all placed on the gurney before being rolled away by the Chansey.

"And here is your room key," Sammy said. "I just need both of you to scan your Dex's here and you're all set!" She turned her computer monitor towards them and pointed at a little scanner on the bottom. They both scanned their Dex's.

"Same last names!" Nurse Sammy said with a smile. "Are you two siblings?"

"Cousins," Daichi corrected.

"Oh! You're still family though," She replied. "It's so nice to see family training together. These days we're lucky to get a single kid through these doors... Anyway, like I said, I'll buzz you guys down when your pokémon are ready! Your room is down that hallway and upstairs, first room on your right. You're welcome to use the showers, too, which are at the end of the hallway upstairs."

"Thank you," Daichi said. Mitzi and Daichi followed the directions and headed to their room. Mitzi flipped on the light switch. It was a pretty standard room, with the same green wallpaper as downstairs and wooden floors. There was a twin bed at each side of the room and a small window between them. Mitzi flopped down onto the one at the left.

There was a layer of dust on everything, as though no one had entered the room in a long time. Daichi opened the window all the way before laying down on the opposite bed.

"I never thought I'd miss a bed this much," Daichi said. His sleeping bag was just not conducive to a well-rested night. It was made worse because Mitzi moved around so much in her sleep and her own sleeping bag crinkled loudly with every twitch.

"It'll get better once we have a tent," Mitzi assured him. "With cushioned padding. And Altaria feathers. Made of marshmallows."

Daichi laughed. The bed sheets smelled clean and comforting around him, which made him all the more aware of his own stink. "I think I'm gonna take her up on that shower," he mumbled.

"Yeah, you kinda reek," Mitzi replied.

"Look who's talking! Your feet could put down a Skuntank!" Daichi shot back.

They both grabbed their bath essentials and separated for the men and women's baths. When they returned to the room, they towel dried their hair and talked about the Pokemon Center.

"Amelie wasn't joking when she said there weren't any trainers," Mitzi said. "It's a ghost town in here."

"I know," Daichi replied. "Those showers creeped me out."

Mitzi kicked her dirty clothes off her bed and left them in a heap on the floor. Daichi folded his own and left them on top of the night stand.

"It didn't used to be like this," Mitzi said, leaning back on the bed. Her blue eyes focused on Daichi forlornly. "Years ago, big groups of kids used to travel together like us. It was a rite of passage to become a trainer. People used to hold celebrations whenever their kids were sent off. This place would have been full of kids our age, talking about training and badges and stuff. I kind of hoped it'd still be like that..."

Daichi thought about that. "It's kind of sad," he said finally.

Suddenly, there was a crackling noise from the intercom next to their bedroom door. "Mizuko, Daichi, your Pokémon are ready!" chirped Sammy's voice.

Mitzi and Daichi headed down to the lobby again. All three pokémon were perched on the front desk as Sammy fed them treats.

"Your pokémon are all in excellent shape," she told them. "We went ahead and fed them for you while you guys were in the shower." The two teens thanked her.

"It's no trouble!" Sammy said. "All that food was gonna go bad anyway."

Mitzi and Daichi looked at each other. "When is the last time you had trainers?" Daichi asked.

Sammy stroked the Caterpie under its chin. "Well, we had a brother and sister come in yesterday." She counted on her fingers. "And before that there was the girl and her Snubble, and before her two other boys." She sighed. "But other than them, we haven't had a trainer come by here in months."

"Months?!" Mitzi exclaimed.

Sammy nodded. "People are skipping this place and heading straight for Pewter, if they can. And Honestly, I kind of understand it. People are still trying to get past what Team Rocket did to us all. If you were a parent, would you want your kid traveling to the town that housed Team Rocket headquarters?"

Daichi shivered. He'd heard the stories from his parents and didn't care for any recaps.

"If I was a parent, I wouldn't want my kid scared of a memory," Mitzi replied angrily.

"That's the spirit!" Sammy said, suddenly energized. "I've always said the same thing! Team Rocket is just a bad memory!"

Mitzi grinned at Sammy. They thanked the nurse again and both headed upstairs as Sammy began closing up for the night.

Upstairs, they allowed the pokémon to play before returning them to their pokeballs. Daichi's Bulbasaur found the perfect playmate in Mitzi's Caterpie and they enjoyed chasing each other around the room. Mitzi's Charmander preferred sitting on the bed and watching.

"Have you thought of a name for her, yet?" Mitzi asked.

Daichi had considered it. He'd read in the handbook that nicknames helped grow the bond between a pokémon and their trainer. He thought about the Bulbasaur's ruby-like eyes and the diamond shaped mark on her forehead.

"I was thinking Jewel," he said after a while, testing the name out loud. The Bulbasaur paused her run around the room and looked over at him.

Mitzi shot straight up in bed. "That's perfect!" she exclaimed. She looked down at her Charmander, which stared back at her with curious eyes. "I wish I knew what to name him," she said.

"I'm sure it'll come to you," Daichi said encouragingly. She frowned and stared up at the ceiling.

After a while, they returned the pokémon and got ready for bed. Daichi turned off the lights and laid down in his bed. He seemed about ready to go to sleep, but Mitzi was still wide awake. She looked at him enviously as his eyes slowly drifted shut.

"We should stock up on supplies tomorrow. And snacks. We should probably e-mail Chi, too," she said, mostly thinking out loud.

"Mhmm."

"Did you tell her you were leaving?"

"Umm.. no. It was kind of a split-second decision."

"She likes you," Mitzi said, frowning disapprovingly at him. "You could've at least said bye to her."

Daichi dodged the comment entirely. "Aren't you tired?" he asked, mid-yawn.

"Yeah."

"So go to sleep."

"I can't."

Daichi opened his eyes again. "Do you want me to sing you a song?"

Mitzi rolled over. "I'm suddenly tired. Goodnight, Dee."

Daichi laughed. "Goodnight, Mitz."

* * *

><p><em>June 10th<em>

**Virdian City**

"Kédo," Mitzi said. "That's your new name."

The Charmander looked up at her. He had a surprised expression on his face.

They were all sitting in the booth of a small restaurant, eating breakfast. The Charmander had been perched on the table with Jewel and the Caterpie. The Charmander had stuffed his mouth full of scrambled eggs when he looked up at her. He chewed quickly and swallowed. "_Char_!" he exclaimed.

"Kédo?" Daichi repeated. He was devouring a play of waffles. The waitress had informed them earlier that seconds were free if you could finish the first in less than two minutes and he was determined to get the second serving.

At the sound of his name, the Charmander then looked over at Daichi.

"Oh," Daichi said. "Well there it is. Good job, Mitzi."

Mitzi grinned triumphantly before stuffing more waffles in her mouth.

When they exited the café, all five of them were stuffed. The Caterpie had eaten it's way through a bowl of salad bigger than itself and seemed quite chipper as it rode on his trainer's shoulder. Kédo and Jewel were a little more sluggish, dragging their feet behind their trainers.

"Did you see the way those people were staring at us?" Mitzi shouted. Her anger was only abated by the fact that he currently had a full stomach. "Like we were some kind of criminals!"

Daichi had noticed. He'd even heard a mother complaining to the waitress and asked to moved somewhere else. "Maybe they thought Kédo was going to burn the place down," Daichi said.

"Charmander!" Kédo replied, offended.

"Whatever. I can't wait to get out of this place," Mitzi replied haughtilly.

"I guess we might as well go sign out at the Center. There really isn't much else to do here," Daichi said. He had his trusty guidebook and was flipping through the section on Viridian. "It says the gym here is only for Tier 2 trainers. What does that mean?"

"Tier 2 means more than four badges," Mitzi explained. "We're Tier 1 since we have no badges. Tier 3 would be eight badges, enough to qualify for the Championship."

Daichi flipped to that section of his guidebook and dog-eared the corner for later. "I guess that means we'll be coming back here later."

They paused at an exit of Viridian City, one that headed west. "That's where the Indigo Plateau is," Mitzi said.

Daichi marveled at the long, empty road. There was a high iron fence closing off the path. On two pillars at each end sat small statues of Moltres, the legendary fire-type bird of Kanto. His brown eyes widened at the statues. He couldn't stop staring at them. The reality of the goal to their journey was hitting him full-force.

"I can't believe we're going to be back here in a year," he said quietly. His stomach prickled with anxiety.

Mitzi was still in a foul mood. "Hopefully everyone will have pulled the sticks out of their asses by then," she said.

They headed back to the Pokémon Center, with plans to gather their things and head out for Route 2 while the sun was still up. However, when they approached the center they were met with a commotion just outside.

"LET ME IN!" screeched a familiar, grating voice.

"Oh no," Mitzi said under her breath. She gripped Daichi's elbow and made to run away, but it was too late. Hannah had already seen them. Mitzi wanted to run anyway, but that was before she took in the other girl's appearance.

Hannah's outfit was a mess, her skirt torn up and her blouse covered in mud. There were cuts on her legs and arms and her hair was in complete disarray. Her green eyes were wide with terror as she took in the two teens. In her arms she was carrying her Snubble. The small pokémon looked as though it had taken a beating. She was covered in dirt and cuts and her eyes were closed. She was struggling to breathe and groaned when Hannah readjusted her in her arms.

Mitzi and Daichi ran forward on instinct. "What happened?!" they said at the same time.

Hannah's eyes welled up with tears. "We were attacked by these guys," she said, her voice cracking. "I asked them what Tier they were, like if they wanted to battle or something, but they just ignored me. And when I said I didn't want to battle someone whose Tier I didn't know, they just went crazy!" She looked down at her Snubble. "They fought us two against one! It was awful! Lily tried so hard but I just couldn't take it anymore. I forfeited the match, so they just took my stuff and ran off. And now this stupid Center won't open and I have to heal Lily right now or she-" Hannah's voice cracked again.

Mitzi ran over to the scanner and quickly signed in using her PokeDex. The doors opened with a whoosh and they all hurried inside.

"Nurse Sammy!" Mitzi shouted. "We need help!"

The Viridian City nurse emerged from the back, still wearing her pajamas. She peered at them, bleary eyed. "What's going on?"

"They were attacked," Daichi explained. "Her pokemon is in bad shape."

Nurse Sammy's eyes snapped wide awake. "Oh, crap. GIGI, WAKE UP!" she shouted to the back room. The Nurse hurried foward and lifted Lily out of Hannah's arms. "I just saw you a few days ago! What the hell?!" She looked Hannah up and down.

.

"I just- They wouldn't stop. I had to get her out of there and I-"

"It's ok," Sammy said, putting a hand on Hannah's shoulder. "We'll talk later. We're going to take good care of her, Hannah." She looked at Daichi and Mitzi. "Can you guys help her get cleaned up? There's a kit behind my desk and you can get her some clothes out of the Lost and Found," the nurse said. She ran off to the back with Lily in her arms.

Hannah allowed Daichi to take her to the Lost and Found closet to pick out clothes while Mitzi searched for the first aid kit. Hannah emerged from the room, wearing an oversized burgundy Polo and hawaiian-printed shorts. She looked ridiculous, but didn't seem to have it in herself to care. Daichi led her over to the seating area as Mitzi approached with the first aid kit.

"I fell trying to get away," Hannah mumbled, gesturing to her knee. Mitzi pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and started cleaning the wound. Hannah hissed when the liquid made contact with her knee and Mitzi started rubbing at it.

"Sorry," Mitz mumbled. She finished cleaning and wrapped her knee in gauze.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Hannah said after a while. The gauze was wrapped firmly, but not so tight that she couldn't bend it. The bleeding looked like it had stopped and Mitzi was now pressing a cold compress on it.

"I've spent a lot of time in the hospital," Mitzi said. "I got bored after a while so I used to sneak into these first-aid seminars they had." That was all she said, without any elaboration. Hannah seemed to know better than to press for more information.

"Well, you're good. Terrible bedside manner aside," she added.

"Gentle isn't in her vocabulary," Daichi said. Hannah managed a small smile.

Mitzi let Hannah take over the cold compress and looked out the window, her blue eyes wide and angry. She looked at the bruises on Hannah's arms and her rage swelled like an angry tide. Just a few days ago this girl had been bright and lively, flirting with Daichi and laughing. Now she looked like someone who'd survived a war. The broken look on Hannah's face made Mitzi want to hit something. As annoying as the girl had been, nobody deserved to have this done to them.

"Where did this happen?" Mitzi asked. The Caterpie on her shoulder shifted to get a better look at Hannah from beneath Mitzi's dark hair.

"Just a little ways off Route 2," Hannah replied. She glanced at the bug pokémon nervously, but willed herself to stay seated. "Next to this little cabin. I was trying to catch a Pidgey so I could get through Virdian Forest without having to deal with all the bugs, when those guys came out of nowhere and grabbed me."

"We should tell the police," Daichi said, standing up. "You should make a report as soon as Lily gets fixed up. We'll come with you."

Hannah smiled gratefully, but shook her head. She began fixing her hair, but it was half-hearted at best. "The police don't really get involved with problems like this," she said. "They think that trainer problems should be resolved by trainers."

"That's ridiculous!" Daichi replied. "These people attacked you and your pokémon! They should be put in jail!"

"I've seen it before," Hannah said, dejected. "This girl on my old dance team, Jackie, she went on her journey last year. She got attacked too and when she tried going to the police. They said that there wasn't much they could do. It was such crap. They just didn't want to get involved." Hannah wiped her eyes. " She came back home after that. I was with her when she made the claim and the policemen all had this look on their faces that was all 'We told you so'. Like it was her fault for deciding to be a trainer. She was too scared to even think about becoming a Coordinater ever again."

Hannah shut her eyes tightly. "You don't think that those things will happen to you, you know? And then it does and it just... I don't know. It makes you never want to leave your house again." She lapsed into silence.

"What did they look like?" Mitzi asked suddenly. "The people that attacked you. How many were there?"

Hannah blinked at her. "Just two guys. They had these hideous pleather jackets with white stripes on the sleeves. I think they were like our age."

Daichi looked at his cousin for the first time since they'd started looking after Hannah. Her eyebrows were narrowed down into a point, her shoulders tense, and her lip pulled into a tight line. He recognized the anger bubbling beneath the surface. "Mizuko," he said seriously. "Don't you dare."

She stood. Mitzi made to walk toward the exit of the Center but Daichi put himself in her path.

"Move," she told him.

"I know what you're thinking, and I'm not going to let you."

Mitzi looked up at him with ice in her eyes. Even though she was so much smaller than him, that look of unadulterated anger sent a chill down his spine. "Move!" she repeated. "Or I'll make you move!"

"Just what do you expect to do?" he replied. "You see what they did to her! Do you really think you can take them on, two against one?"

"I have Kédo," Mitzi said. "And I have Caterpie."

"They've hardly even battled before. If you go out there alone, they'll beat you to a pulp. Or worse!"

"They took all her money and they hurt her pokémon so badly that it couldn't even walk. I can't just let them get away with that!"

"And I can't let you get hurt!" he replied. They both stared each other down.

"String Shot," Mitzi said.

"What-MMMF!" Daichi exclaimed. Mitzi's Caterpie had shot a web of silky thread into his face. It covered his eyes, nose, and mouth and he struggled to pull it off.

"Sorry, Dee. C'mon, Kédo!" Mitzi shouted The Charmander hurriedly chased after his trainer, leaving Daichi and Hannah behind.

* * *

><p><strong>an: I've been a busy bee so I'm sorry for the lack of updates! To make up for it you can expect a second chapter sometime this week. :) Thanks for reading!**


	8. Our Dangerous Encounter

**Route 2**

Mitzi stood in the middle of the road, utterly lost. No matter how much she consulted her map, she just didn't know which way to go. She turned it this way, then that way, but none of the lines and geographical marks made any sense to her. It suddenly dawned on her just how useless she was without Daichi around.

Mitzi looked down at Kédo. The little Charmander was staring up her expectantly, ready to follow her wherever this crazy journey would lead. At least she wouldn't be in this alone.

"She said it was near a cabin," Mitzi said. "There's a lot of cliffs that way," she pointing to her right, "So if I was gonna build a house in the middle of nowhere, I'd make it far away from there and closer to the river." She looked towards her left.

Finding the guys who wronged Hannah would mean another trek off the trail and through the seemingly endless forest. But no matter what, she had to try. She headed off the path, comforted by her Caterpie's weight on her shoulder and Kédo's small footsteps beside her.

Half an hour later and she'd finally found the stupid log cabin. It was well hidden among a dense gathering of trees. It also wasn't very big and there were vines growing all over it. If she hadn't looked twice she probably would have missed it.

Mitzi approached the left of the house and peered in through the open window. Just when she was about to peek her head over the windowsill, two arms grabbed her around the middle and dragged her backwards. She flailed automatically and lashed out, kicking and grabbing fistfuls of hair. Just when she was about to scream, a hand clamped over her mouth. The last thing Mitzi saw was a flash of orange before blacking out.

* * *

><p>"You didn't have to be so rough with her!" screamed a girl's voice.<p>

Mitzi opened her eyes. She was laying down on her back. The sky was above her, where the tree leaves and branches broke up the sunlight coming down. It looked like something out of a painting. She squinted when the leaves shifted and one of the sun's rays shone into her face.

"How do you know she isn't one of them?!"

"Look at her! Does she really look like a criminal to you?"

Two people moved into the edges of her vision. Before she could get a good look at them, a weight on her chest shifted and growled deeply. Kédo was standing on her stomach, his back hunched and smoke coming out of his nostrils.

_Back off!_

Mitzi sat up slowly. Her head was throbbing painfully and she was filled with barely contained rage at being bested. She looked up. Two teens, a guy and a girl, were kneeling a little ways away from her with troubled expressions. She recognized their matching dark green hair instantly.

"You're those guys from the lab," Mitzi said, a hand pressed to her throbbing head. Her confusion ebbed away at her anger. She vaguely registered her Caterpie climbed up her body and reassuming its place on her shoulder.

"You're a new trainer?" the girl asked. She was a little chubby, with round, rosy cheeks and a full figure beneath her denim overalls. She had brown eyes and a pair of silver-framed glasses. "Are you one of Professor Willow's?"

Mitzi nodded and the green-haired girl gave her brother a fierce glare. "I told you!"

Her brother rolled his eyes. He was like his sister in that they had matching hair and were both on the larger side. Mitzi thought he was at least twice her size, if not bigger.

"What's going on?" Mitzi asked. "Did you guys hit me?"

"No, that was your Charmander," the boy said, gesturing to Kédo. "He was trying to get us with a Tackle but got you instead. His aim needs work," he added as an afterthought. Kédo's shoulders raised in protest.

"What are you doing here anyway?" the boy asked.

"My friend- well, she's not really my friend. Whatever. This girl I know, she got hurt really bad by some guys on this route. They took all her stuff so I was trying to get it back."

The siblings looked at each other.

"What?" Mitzi asked.

"They took my brother's pokémon," the girl said. "They got into our stuff while we were sleeping. We've been tracking them since early this morning." She pulled out two pokeballs from her pocket. "The only reason they didn't get mine is because I had them in my pocket while I was sleeping."

"How old are you anyway?" The boy interrupted. "You don't look like you've been traveling a long time."

"I'm sixeen," Mitzi replied. The brother scoffed and shook his head.

"Me too," the green-haired girl replied. She stuck out a hand to the other girl. "My name is Kayla."

"Mitzi," she replied, shaking her hand.

Kayla offered Mitzi a small smile. "This my brother, Jamie. He's a good guy, even if he doesn't look like it."

Mitzi thought she could believe that. Even though he had about a thousand piercings in his ears and one on his left eyebrow, she'd seen how he'd defending trainers outside the lab. Anyone that passionate about pokémon couldn't be a bad person, after all.

There was a sudden thumping within the cabin and a bought of laughter coming from the open window. All three teens leapt into the nearest bush to hide themselves.

"So what exactly was your plan, anyway?" Jamie asked.

Mitzi bit her lip and looked at Kédo. "I was kind of just gonna wing it."

"Great," Jamie grumbled. "God, I should just go in there and knock their heads together. If it wasn't for that damn Nidoran I would be."

"There's a Nidoran sitting on their couch," Kayla explained. "I don't know if you've ever been stung by a Nidoran, but it hurts really bad. It's the only thing keeping us from getting Jamie's pokémon back. Well, that and the fact that we're outnumbered two to one."

Mitzi grinned. "Not anymore. What pokémon do you have?"

Kayla released her pokémon. A Squirtle and a Pidgey emerged from the pokeballs. The Squirtle was apprehensive and eyed everything warily. The Pidgey seemed relatively normal as far as Pidgey went.

Mitzi looked between them and her own pokémon. She didn't know how many pokémon the two thieves had and she couldn't afford to find out. Kédo and Caterpie didn't have much experience and she doubted that Kayla's pokémon were much better. She wished Daichi was here. All this thinking was making her head hurt.

They needed to take down the Nidoran, first and foremost. Mitzi returned to the window and peered over the ledge. She spotted the two boys that Hannah had described, wearing their black jackets. They were sitting in front of television, playing a video game. The female Nidoran was seated on the couch a few feet behind them, resting with eyes closed.

Mitzi headed back to the bush. "What attacks does your Squirtle know?" she asked Kayla.

"Um, just the basics. Tackle, Tail Whip."

"Any long-range attacks?"

"It knows Water Gun," Kayla replied.

"His aim is pretty crappy too, though," Jamie added.

"That's ok," Mitzi said. "We just need a diversion."

"What about that stupid Nidoran?" Jamie asked.

Mitzi plucked Caterpie off her shoulder. She give him a wicked grin. "We'll just use my secret weapon!"

Jamie looked devastated. He put his face in his hands and groaned.

* * *

><p>Mitzi placed Caterpie on the windowsill. "You know what to do," she whispered.<p>

Caterpie entered the cabin and crawled up the side of the wall, silent as a mouse. He snuck past the boys and then scaled the ceiling of the cabin until he hovered directly above the Nidoran. Caterpie took aim and shot a string of web down at the Poison-Type. Before the pokémon could react, it's mouth and legs were entirely encased in strong, thick webbing. It wiggled furiously, trying to release itself, but it was useless. Caterpie climbed down to the sofa and rolled the Nidoran down and onto the floor. He then Tackled it until it lay unseen behind the couch.

Mitzi looked to her right and signaled to Jamie, who stood a ways away among the trees. He nodded and ran to give his sister the message.

The plan was for her Squirtle to shoot a series of water guns in the forest surrounding the cabin, while it and Kayla sat perched safely at the top of a tree. The sound would then attract the two trainers, who would go to investigate and leave the cabin vacant. It would Mitzi enough time to get in and out of the cabin before they trainers were any wiser. Or at least, so she hoped.

Caterpie crawled back to the window and puffed out it's chest at Mitzi. It was proud of itself.

"I knew you could do it," Mitzi whispered. "That was perfect!"

**VHOOSH!**

Mitzi ducked down as the two thieves jumped up in shock.

"What the hell was that?!" the short one exclaimed.

**VHOOSH! VHOOSH!**

"I don't fucking know. It's probably just a Mankey breaking things."

"There aren't any Mankey on this route," the short one replied.

**VHOOSH!**

The teens ran out of the cabin door, leaving the sound effects of their game playing in the background.

Mitzi pulled herself onto the windowsill and fell inside the cabin ungracefully. Kédo leapt in after her.

The young teen brought herself to her feet and looked around. She started with the wardrobe in the corner, then pulled the cushions off the couch and dug around in there. Ignoring the muffled complaints of the Nidoran behind the couch, Mitzi moved towards the kitchen. She ended up just opening every single drawer and cabinet that she could find, trying to imagine where she would hide things of she was a robber. The longer she spent looking, the more desperate she became.

Mitzi growled and looked around the sparse room again. She'd looked everywhere! Where else could their stolen stuff be?!

Mitzi walked across the cabin.

_Creeeeek._

Mitzi lifted her foot. She looked down at one of the wooden panels on the floor. It was sticking up a little, as though it was just recently placed there.

"Kédo!" Mitzi said.

Together, they pried up four of the floorboards. It was completely dark in the space beneath the cabin, so Mitzi stuck her hand in and rummaged around blindly. She was surprised to pull out not only Hannah's purple bag, but several others as well. Just how many kids had these guys robbed from before?

Mitzi pulled out every single bag she and Kédo could reach. There were fourteen total. She was shocked. Fourteen people total. That was how many lives that these thieves had ruined, how many kids had been forced to come home before their journeys really began. She felt such despair seeping out of her. All of her sympathy for these kids suddenly flashed into anger. She couldn't let these kids off just like that.

She needed to make them pay.

The door to the cabin slammed open. "What the fuck?!" the boy shouted. He was pale and tall, with big hands that were curled into fists as he looked around at the mess Mitzi had made, and then at the bags laying at her feet. He wore a yellow baseball cap, the black jacket, and jeans. Hannah was right. He was the same age as them, which somehow only made everything ten times worse.

He reached for the pokeballs on his belt. "You don't wanna mess with me," he warned her.

"I think I should be saying that to you," Mitzi replied, her eyes narrowed. Kédo stepped into place before her as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

The boy looked down at the Charmander, then back at its trainer. A grin spread on his face. "Your funeral," he said. "When I'm through with you, you'll wish you never left home."

The boy released his pokémon.

* * *

><p><em>Oh no.<em>

Mitzi tried her best to keep her face from revealing the shock she felt inside. The pokémon that materialized from the thief's pokémon was none other than a Graveler. Instantly, it's overall stats flashed into her brain. She knew that it's defense was high and that without a type-effective attack, it could take ages to take one down. She also knew that it's speed was terrible, and that sometimes they had trouble righting themselves after rolling into a ball. But all of that information was secondary to the blaring sirens that sounded in her head. Graveller was a rock-type, and Kédo was a fire-type. It was their first battle and already they had a disadvantage. She couldn't even tell what level the Graveler was or what Tier the thief was.

She looked at Kédo. He either wasn't aware of the type advantage, or simply wasn't fazed. He stood poised to lunge, ready for Mitzi's orders.

_Grow a spine!_ Mitzi told herself.

"ROLLOUT!"

Before she could think of a command, the Graveler rolled into a boulder and barreled towards her and Kédo. Mitzi threw herself backwards and fell against the wardrobe, sending piles of clothes and boxes crashing down on her. She couldn't even see what was happening, but she heard the Graveler rush across the floor and she assumed towards her Charmander.

"Dodge him, Kédo!" she screamed, pulling herself free from the pile.

The Graveler had crashed into the refrigerator and sent it over sideways as Kédo leapt onto the counter top.

"Tackle!' Mitzi said.

Kédo beelined for the Graveller, who had only just got itself to its feet. Kédo knocked it back towards the ground. It skidded a few feet and collided into a kitchen cabinet, sending splintered pieces of wood flying everywhere. Kédo went in for another Tackle, but the Graveler managed to right itself just in time to hit Kédo across the face and sending him sprawling back towards Mitzi. He slid across the wooden floor and groaned.

"You can do this, Kédo!" Mitzi shouted at him. The Charmander shakily brought himself to his feet again.

Across the cabin, the thief was grinning. In that moment Mitzi wanted nothing more than to rip that smile off his face. He must have known that Kédo couldn't outrun his Graveler forever. It was only a matter of time before the Charmander slipped. One bad rock-type move and Kédo would surely be knocked out. She had to think of something, and fast. She looked at the refrigerator, who's door has been knocked off its hinges.

"Rollout!' the thief shouted again.

"The fridge, Kédo!"

The Charmander looked back at her with confusion, before finally understanding. He leapt towards the fallen refrigerator and poised himself in front of it. The Graveler barreled towards him until at the last possible second Kédo leapt out of the way. The Graveler rolled straight into the refrigerator and both went crashing through the front wall of the cabin. Sunlight poured in from the gaping hole and a loud crash resounded.

"What..." The thief looked at the gaping hole. "Graveler! Get back in here!" he shouted. The Rock pokémon growled in response, but it sounded muffled. The Graveler was stuck inside the refrigerator.

Kédo ran back towards Mitzi and looked up at her. He was covered in bruises and looked a little daze from the blow to the head, but somehow remained standing. Mitzi knelt down. "I'm so proud of you," she told him earnestly, cradling his face in her hands.

Kédo managed a weak smile. "Char," he replied.

Suddenly, Mitzi heard the sound of a pokéball being opened. She looked up and came face to face with ugliest, meanest looking Golem she'd ever seen.

"You didn't think that was my only pokémon, did you?" the boy told her. He took a step forwards.

Mitzi grabbed Kédo and leaped backwards. Kédo was too tired to go on, she could just feel it in the way he was looking up at her. She looked over her shoulder. Could she run away fast enough?! There was no time to find out.

Before she could so much as take two steps, the thief grabbed a fistful of her hair and tossed her back towards the wall. Her head smacked against the wood and for a moment she went light-headed. Kédo slipped out of her arms and landed on the floor.

"This battle isn't over," the boy replied cruelly. "A battle isn't over until all of their pokémon are out of commission. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?"

Mitzi tried to twist her way out of his grasp but he only tightened his grip and brought a burning pain to her scalp. She could almost feel the hair being ripped out of her head. Tears of pain sprang to her eyes, and through the blur she made out the thief's Golem as it marched slowly towards her tired Charmander.

"I forfeit!" Mitzi shouted, words she thought she'd never say. "I give up! You win! Leave him alone!"

"That isn't how this game works," he replied. He addressed his Golem, "Show these losers your Smack Down! That'll teach them to never mess with-!"

**SPLAT!**

Suddenly, Mitzi's hair was released. She ran forward and scooped up Kédo before turning around to see the thief stumble backwards. His face was covered in a white, sticky web and he struggle to rip it off.

Across the room, Caterpie was sitting on the window's ledge.

**SPLAT!**

The Golem roared as it's face was also covered in sticky web.

"Caterpie!" Mitzi exclaimed. It scurried down the window ledge and before it's trainer. It stood infront of her, as Kédo had earlier, poised for battle.

"Let's just get out of here!" Mitzi shouted at it, already heading towards the window. "C'mon, Caterpie! You did good, but we have to go NOW!"

Caterpie didn't budge. It remained rooted to the spot, determined to battle.

"Damn it Caterpie!" Mitzi shouted. She looked up at the thief, who was starting to succeed in ripping the web from his face. Mitzi didn't even notice that the Golem was free until it was already too late.

"NO!" Mitzi screamed.

Caterpie was thrown across the cabin and slammed back against the wall. It slid down to the floor and landed there limply.

The Golem turned its attention towards her and so did it's trainer, now free. Mitzi grit her teeth and charged forward at the boy. She managed to stick him with a swift right hook, but missed when she came in for another. His Golem was fast than his Graveler had been, and before she could think, it had tackled her down into the ground. She skid across the floor and curled protectively into a ball, shielding Kédo against her chest.

The thief spit out blood and loomed over her like an angry giant. Mitzi, winded and out of pokémon, grit her teeth and prepared herself for the worst.

"BULBA!"

"AUGH!"

The thief suddenly lurched forward and slammed down ontop of his pokémon. He groaned and held his stomach. Mitzi looked up.

A Bulbasaur with a diamond-shaped spot on its forehead had knocked the boy down. It stood behind him, growling lowly and showing off its teeth.

"Mizuko!" Daichi shouted. He analyzed the scene quickly, taking in the fallen Caterpie and Kédo lying limply in her arms. He ran across the cabin and pushed back her hair from her forehead. "You're bleeding," he told her. "Are you okay?"

Mitzi just sat there, stunned. The world seemed to be moving at warp speed and she hadn't quite caught up with it. She only vaguely registered the thief standing up again.

"This isn't finished," the thief said. His hat had fallen off his head, revealing a shock of orange hair. Seeing Daichi's Bulbasaur, he returned his Golem and reached for another pokéball.

"Oh, I think it is."

Jamie pushed Daichi out of the way and entered the cabin. He was dragging the other thief on the floor, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. He threw him onto the floor before them all. The second thief had a bruised cheek, a blackening eye, and was soaked from head to two. He was unconscious. Kayla entered shortly after, followed by her Squirtle.

"Unless you wanna end up like your friend," Jamie said, reaching for his backpack on the floor, "I suggest you move that hand away from your belt."

The thief hesitated in the intimidating teen's presence. He looked down at his friend, and then back up. He was outnumbered four to one.

He unhooked his belt and dropped it at Jamie's feet. "Like I give a shit," he muttered. He dropped to the floor and held his aching gut. "Take your stuff and get out of here," he muttered.

"I don't think you understand," Jamie said. He grabbed a fistful of the thief's shirt and pulled him forward. "If I ever get so much of a whiff of this ever happening again, I will personally come find you and make you look like him," Jamie said, gesturing to the bruised and bloody teen. "Do we understand each other?"

The thief swallowed and wiped his bloody mouth. He nodded.

* * *

><p>Between the four of them (and Jamie's Machoke) the teens were able to take the remaining bags and return to the Viridian City Center. Jamie had also taken the initiative to take the thieves' personal pokémon. Kayla had complained and Daichi had looked like he wanted to say something against thieving, but it was Mitzi who reasoned that the thieves would only continue to hurt other kids if they left them with more pokémon to use as weapons.<p>

It was a valid argument, and so the matter was settled.

When the four teens had arrived to the center, Hannah had ran to them instantly. She'd screamed and thanked them profusely when she had her bag returned. Tears ran down her cheeks as she informed Daichi and Mitzi that her Snubbull would be fine after another day's rest.

Nurse Sammi, however, was absolutely furious to see them. After hearing their story, she had berated them all for what seemed like forever before finally sighing and running a hand through her short hair.

"Though it was entirely stupid to run off like that," she said, her eyes lingering in Mitzi, "You were all incredibly courageous. Because of you, I can return all these belongings and pokémon to their rightful trainers." She looked at each of them meaningfully. "You've made such a difference today and you did it by working together. You are what this generation of trainers should aspire to be. For that, you should all be very proud of yourselves."

Then she'd taken all of their pokémon and left to the back to heal them, leaving the five teens to collapse onto the seating area and stew in their thoughts.

Mitzi had been uncharacteristically silent since the battle at the cabin. She kept on rubbing her leg and looking out the window with an unreadable expression on her face. When Daichi asked her if she was okay, if she was hurting anywhere, she just waved him off and continued staring out the window.

"I guess this makes us heroes," Jamie said after a while. He had an entire couch to himself and was sprawled end to end. "Not that anyone's ever going to know."

"We'll know," Kayla replied, sharing a couch with Hannah. "That's all that really matters in the end." Her brother sighed, but agreed.

Suddenly, Mitzi spoke. "Those kids," she started, and then abruptly stopped herself, as though just realizing that she'd spoke. Daichi stared at her, worry etching his face.

"They were awful," Kayla finished. "That guy who came at us... He said terrible things about-" She stopped and shook her head. "It's not worth repeating. They're just awful."

"Your Squirtle did a great job, though. I'm impressed," her brother replied.

Kayla smiled. "He was so nervous. But you're right, he did well. I'm proud of him."

It was only early afternoon, but already the teens were being lulled into sleep. The morning's ordeal had drained them of any energy they'd had. They tried keeping up a conversation, but soon the urge to lay down was too much to resist. That was how Sammi found them all. Five teens, sprawled across the couches in her Pokémon Center. They were all in varying states of dirt and injuries, and the nurse inside her desperately wanted to usher them off to bathe and dress their wounds. But somehow, she couldn't find it in her to do it. After all, how often would she get to see a sight like this?

Sneakers and socks were thrown around the sitting area carelessly, as well as backpacks and jackets. Jamie was sprawled every which way on the couch, his dark green hair covering his face and his mouth hanging open. Kayla and Hannah were each curled up at different ends of a second couch, sharing a blanket between them. Hannah's eyes were still puffy from crying, but she at least looked peaceful. Kayla seemed to have forgotten to take off her glasses and they were askew on her face. Mitzi and Daichi were on the third couch and lying head to head, their matching black hair melting together like a puddle of ink on the gingham couch.

"So these kids are the future of Kanto," Sammi said, committing each face and name to memory. She smiled and walked away, leaving them to their dreams.


	9. Our First Battle

_June 11th_

**Viridian City Pokemon Center**

Daichi woke that morning with an intense pressure on his chest. He thought for sure that he was dying, until he heard the soft snores of his Bulbasaur and felt her puffs of breath on his face.

"Jewel," he groaned, "You're too heavy!"

He rolled her off his chest. She landed on the bed with a soft thump and continued snoring.

Daichi sat up and looked over at his younger cousin. Mitzi was sprawled across her bed, with Kédo curled under one arm and Caterpie nesting in the tangles of her hair. Both Pokemon had fully recuperated after an afternoon in Nurse Sammi's care and seemed unfazed by yesterday's ordeal. Saichi was fascinated at how easily pokémon could bounce back from trauma. He also envied them for it.

When he and Jewel had burst open the cabin the other day, he'd felt like throwing up. The thought of confrontation never appealed to him, and yesterday had been no different. He couldn't stop wondering what would have happened if he, Jamie, and Kayla hadn't arrived when they did. He remembered Mitzi on the floor, holding Kédo with eyes squeezed shut in effort not to see the inevitable. He remembered the boy leering over her, every cell in his body screaming his intent to hurt Mitzi.

_Being a trainer will be_ _so much_ _fun_, Mitzi had told him. Was that still true?

Daichi rose from bed and got dressed. When he looked back again at Mitzi's bed, Kédo was awake and staring at him intently. He seemed to be trying to tell him something, but for the life of him Daichi couldn't figure out what it was. Daichi went over to Mitzi's backpack and pulled out a bag of generic pokefeed. "Are you hungry?" Daichi guessed. Kédo stared at him for a few more seconds before finally he seemed to give up. He walked over to the bowl that Daichi set out for him and began eating. True to form, the sound of kibble being poured finally woke Jewel up. She hopped down next to Kédo and helped herself to his food. Kédo seemed used to her behavior and let her eat from his bowl without a hassle.

"Why do I feel like I've seen this before?" Daichi mumbled.

"I smell bacon," Mitzi spoke suddenly. She sat up and focused her sleepy blue eyes on Daichi. "Did you make bacon?"

"That's why this is familiar," Daichi said.

"What?"

"Nothing. I smell bacon, too. Maybe someone is making breakfast."

"So let's go eat it," Mitzi suggested.

"Why don't you shower first and change that bandage?" Daichi said, gesturing to the wad of gauze taped to her forehead. "I'm going to go e-mail Chiasa and see what I can find to eat."

"Ok," Mitzi said. She rolled over and fell back to sleep.

* * *

><p>Daichi sat down at one of the computers in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. The area was quiet, save for a lone Machoke who was at work mopping the lobby tiles. Daichi booted up the computer and opened up his e-mail.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>To: <strong>NoseInABook

**From: **SmartyPantsChi

**Subject:** ?

**June 5th || **9:04 AM

WHAT?

* * *

><p><strong>To: <strong>NoseInABook

**From: **SmartyPantsChi

**Subject:** Are you serious right now?

**June 5th || **9:10 AM

Your mom just called me FREAKING OUT. Your whole family is FREAKING OUT. Daichi Kazehaya, do you have any idea what you've done?

-Chi, who is also FREAKING OUT.

* * *

><p><strong>To: <strong>NoseInABook

**From: **SmartyPantsChi

**Subject:** ANGRY

**June 5th || **9:14 AM

I'm so upset that you didn't tell me and I had to hear it from your screaming mother. She accused me of housing a fugitive (you) in my lair (attic). I hate you so much right now.

Why didn't you tell me? Why did you just leave like that? I wish you'd have told me. Maybe I wanted to go with you.

-Chi

* * *

><p><strong>To: <strong>NoseInABook

**From: **SmartyPantsChi

**Subject:** A Journey of Epic Proportions

**June 5th || **12:04 PM

I'm sorry about the last few e-mails I sent. I was just a little taken aback. Please feel free to trash them without opening. (In fact, please do. Save me the embarassment.)

Your family has calmed down (kinda) and made me promise to tell them when I get a reply from you. All of Cedarwood is talking. You're officially Hot Gossip. Danny Aizawa is all "yeah well I sat NEXT TO HIM in geometry". She's so full of crap. LOL. Your cousins were saying a whole bunch of stuff about how you'd come back in two days, but I think they're just jealous of you.

I'm so excited for you, Dee. Really, I am. I guess I just miss you already.

You must be in Pallet now, or headed towards Route 1. Please reply when you get this e-mail and send Mitzi all of my love and best wishes. I'm going to hold on to those promises I made about setting her up with training specials and contests (am actually researching this as I type this e-mail) so make sure to check in frequently.

I love you both. Be safe.

-Chi

* * *

><p>Daichi's stomach was in knots. What on earth could he say to that? It had been less than a week since he'd left home with Mitzi and already so much had happened. He didn't even know where to begin. He sat there at the computer for a solid ten minutes. Realizing that he wasn't going to think of a good reply soon, he closed the e-mails and decided he would answer her after her had food in his stomach.<p>

"_Chansey!_"

Gigi, Nurse Sammi's right-hand assistant, greeted Daichi as he entered the kitchen. Two other Chansey were busy setting up a small, round kitchen table with an assortment of breakfast food.

"Um. Good morning," he told Gigi, who was distinguished only by the hat she wore. Instead of a green plus sign, like the other Chansey had, hers was gold.

"_Chansey!_" Gigi gestured to the table and when Daichi just stood there, she hustled him over and forcibly placed him in a chair.

The table was laid out with a plethora of bacon, eggs, and toast. Feeling shy and a little apprehensive beneath the focused stare of Gigi, he timidly reached for a bowl of fruit. Once he'd taken a bite of an apple, Gigi smiled and wandered off.

"Good morning!" Nurse Sammi exclaimed, entering from a door that led outside. She was dressed casually, with jeans and a blouse. The sides of her short, pink hair were also pinned back with hair clips. She was even wearing pink lipstick. The young woman looked so different without the scrubs she normally wore that Daichi had to look twice.

Hannah entered shortly thereafter, her hair back to its normal affair, long and silky straight down her back. She was wearing a lavender sundress and holding Lily in one arm. Both seemed to have recovered from yesterday's ordeal. Hannah still had a few cuts and bruises, but seemed no worse for the wear. She took a seat across from Daichi and offered him a smile.

"I was wondering if you kids were ever going to wake up," Sammi said as she approached him. "Hannah was just helping me feed some of the pokémon that we have here at the Center."

"When trainers send their pokémon back home to Oak's Laboratory, they overflow sometimes gets sent over to the Viridan City Center, too," Hannah said. "Sammi could be looking after our pokémon some day. And she looks after them all by herself! Well, there are like two aides and all the Chansey around. But still, isn't that so crazy?"

"Alright, enough about me." Sammi laughed. "I hope you guys like the selection we laid out for you. It's been so long that we had so many people over that I think we kind of overdid it.

Daichi stood automatically, the manners that his mother had beat into him suddenly surfacing. "Thank you for all of this," he said, bowing slightly. Sammi waved him off and urged him to sit once more.

"Are the others still sleeping?" Daichi asked.

"Kayla and Jamie actually left early this morning," she replied a little sadly.

Daichi supposed he shouldn't have assumed that all of a sudden they would be best friends traveling the world together. Even so, Jamie had been the one to take down one of the thieves and then lead Daichi to Mitzi. Daichi and Kayla had also got on fairly well the other day and even found out that they'd read many of the same novels. He couldn't help feeling a little hurt that they hadn't even said so much as a goodbye.

"I'm sure you'll see each other soon," Sammi offered, reading his expression.

There was a sudden clicking of nails against the wooden floor and Daichi turned to see Jewel and Kédo enter the kitchen, with Caterpie perched on Jewel's bulb. Jewel hurriedly ran over to greet the woman who'd healed her. Sammi grinned as she patted Jewel's head. "Well don't you look ready to start the day!"

Mitzi entered the kitchen after the pokémon. She was still in her pajamas and with her hair stuck in every which way. She'd had enough sense to change her bandage, if not her clothes. Nonetheless, she still looked like death on two feet. Gigi ushered Mitzi to the table and tried to revive her with a plate of bacon and eggs.

Sammi left to pour them some orange juice and placed their cups on the table. "I've been thinking a lot about what happened to you all yesterday," she said after a while. The three teens looked up at her attentively. "I went ahead and called the other nurses in Kanto and asked them to pass along the message about these trainers. From what I've been told, this isn't just an isolated incident. It's been happening all over the place. Kids are getting robbed of their belongings and pokémon and being forced to return home. "

"And the police aren't doing anything about it," Hannah said as though she already knew the answer.

Sammi nodded. "The nurse in Cerulean City is married to a Sergeant in the police department over there. If possible, I'd like you guys to sit down with a sketch artist and see if we can identify who these thieves are."

"What does it matter if the police don't care about trainers?" Hannah blurted out. "It's just a waste of time!"

"My theory is that the police don't understand the severe crimes that are being committed here. That's the reason I photographed your injuries, Hannah. And yours, Mitzi. I'm going to file a report myself with the police and see if we can actually have something done wbout this.."

Daichi looked at Mitzi. He had no idea that Sammi had done that. He himself hadn't seen the gravity of her injuries besides the blow to her head. Were there more injuries that she had been hiding from him? He wouldn't put it past her.

"I think that if we can convince the police that these aren't just trainer's feuds, but actual, physical assaults on innocent victims-on _children-_ We'll be able to change the way that these situations are handled in the future."

"Cerulean," Mitzi repeated. She looked at Daichi.

"It'll be a few months walking," Hannah said, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers nervously. "What if we forget what they look like by then?"

"I won't forget," Mitzi said, her eyes moving down at her pokémon.

They were all silent for a moment, lost in their thoughts.

Sammi clapped her hands suddenly, startling the three of them. "So, I'm assuming you're all heading to Pewter next," Sammi said, changing the dreary topic of the conversation. "That's where your first gym battle will be, huh? That's pretty exciting."

A swarm of Butterfree grew in Daichi's stomach. In the midst of everything, he'd forgotten about training. He looked over at Jewel, who was begging one of the Chansey for scraps. The only experience he'd had so far with commanding her was when they'd broken down the door to the cabin. Back then, the words had come out of his mouth effortlessly and Jewel had obeyed like she was born loyal to him. But he knew that a wooden door and a living, breathing pokémon were two entirely different opponents.

"We've haven't trained much," Daichi confessed. "I barely even know how battles work."

"Well, experience is the best teacher," Sammi chirped. "How about we have some fun today?!"

They stared at her questioningly.

"You hear me. I challenge you three to a battle!"

* * *

><p>The backyard of the Pokemon Center was miles wide and encircled by a seven-foot tall chain link fence. A few mixed pokémon milled around the place, mostly napping or resting under the shade of a large oak tree in the corner of the yard. The scattered shrubs and trees throughout the lot gave the place an almost wild feel.<p>

"So, who wants to go first?!" Sammi shouted, positioning herself a good ten feet away from the three teens.

Mitzi had finally changed out of her pajamas and brushed her hair, but her expression still looked a little dazed. Daichi had expected Mitzi to leap at the chance for a battle. But she stood next to him, silent, her fists curled tightly. She wouldn't even so much as look at him.

"I'll go," Hannah offered. She seemed to have sensed whatever strangeness existed between Mitzi and Daichi and gave him her most charming smile before stepping forward. Daichi was thankful for it.

"So what Tier are you, nurse Sammi?" Hannah asked, pulling out a pink pokeball.

"If I told you you'd never battle me," Sammi replied mischievously. "But don't worry, this is just a sparring match. No heavy blows, and no knock-outs."

"Got it," Hannah replied. She tossed her pokéball in the air. "Go, Lily!"

Hannah's Snubbul materialized on the field and raised its short arms up. "_Snubbs!_" it exclaimed loudly. She looked entirely different from the timid creature that Daichi and Mitzi had first met. She stood as tall as her two feet would allow and Hannah had tied a shimmering blue ribbon in Lily's left ear. It seemed as though the experience at the cabin had toughened her up.

"Normally in a battle, whoever initiates the encounter has to release their pokemon first, in order to give the opponent the option of choosing which pokemon to battle against them," Sammi informed them. "But since I know that Hannah only has one pokemon, I'll be doing the same and using just one."

"Wait a second," Mitzi said, "You're going to use the same pokémon against all of us?"

Sammi simply smiled. She pulled a pokéball out of her pocket and activated it. The red light of her pokéball materialized in a small, four-legged creature with big, oval ears. It had a feline face and was light blue, but from its belly to its tail it was entirely black. It flicked its tail playfully, bouncing around the yellow four-pointed appendage at the end. There was a mischievous twinkle in its yellow eyes, not unlike the expression that it's trainer also had.

"What is that?" Daichi asked.

"It's a Shinx!" Hannah exclaimed. "How cute!"

"Let's see how long you think he's cute!" Sammi replied.

Mitzi was momentarily revived from whatever spell she'd been under and flipped open her PokeDex. "**Shinx, the Flash Pokemon. Small and fast, this electric-type relies on evasion to tire it's opponents. It can generate a brilliant flash from the electricity it generates, momentarily blinding those around."**

Daichi and Mitzi looked at each other.

"I already knew all that," Hannah replied haughtily. "Can we start now?"

"Yes!" Sammi shouted. "Let the battle begin!"

* * *

><p><strong>Viridian City<strong>

Callie had been in Virdian City for only an hour and already she was unimpressed. The people were dull and other than the gates to the Indigo Plateau, so were the sights. Everyone moved past her without making eye contact, as though they were all busy to head home and get back to their lame lives. It was pretty depressing. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. She hoped the rest of Kanto wasn't like Viridian City. If it was, she'd be on the first plane out to Sinnoh tomorrow morning.

After browsing the abysmal shopping district and giving up on finding any trainers to battle, Callie decided she might as well visit the Pokemon Center. Unfortunately, Callie had forgotten the fact that she didn't have a PokeDex and therefore couldn't enter it. _Whatever,_ she thought. She would just have to stalk up on potions and other home remedies. If the time came, she could always just pay a veterinarian for something more serious. Just as she was turning to leave, she heard a crackle of electricity and the thumping of little paws.

"Tackle!"

"Dodge it, Lily!"

Callie looked around her. So it seemed like the town actually had some life left in it. She followed the shouts of the trainers, which led her around the side of the Pokemon Center and towards the backyard. She followed the fence until she found where the source of the battle was. Callie hooked her fingers into the chain link fence and leaned against it as she squinted into the distance. A pale teen with long, dark hair (and wearing a dress from last season) was facing off against a pink-haired young woman. A Snubbul and a Shinx were battling between them, with the latter running circles around the poor little Snubbul.

Excitement filled Callie at the prospect of meeting other trainers. She was even more thrilled to see two other teens were standing behind the long-haired girl. A tall, thin boy was saying something to a short girl. Both were dark-haired, olive-skinned, and in dire need of haircuts.

She couldn't make out their words from here, but she could tell that they were talking about something serious from the way they huddled close to each other. The small girl suddenly wheeled on him and they stared each other down. The boy then said something to her and the small girl dropped her shoulders. He put a hand on her shoulder and they appeared to make up. They both turned back towards the battle, which appeared to be nearly over judging by the way that the Snubbul was wobbling on its feet.

The battle was ended before the Snubbul could be knocked out, so Callie concluded that it must have been a friendly sparring match. The long-haired girl picked up her Snubbul and returned it to its pokeball. The pink-haired girl then motioned to the boy. He gave a glance to his companion, then approached the woman.

Callie couldn't miss the opportunity to get in on the action. She stuck her feet into the gaps of the fence and started to climb.

* * *

><p>Daichi wiped his hands on his jeans. He was already sweating and the battle hadn't even begun. When he went to call out Jewel, the pokéball nearly slipped out of his hands and he fumbled to catch it.<p>

"The first battle's always the hardest. It's okay to be nervous," Sammi said, offering him some encouragement. "But there's nothing like that first taste of victory."

Daichi blushed. Did he even have a palette for victory? He wasn't sure. He liked getting good grades and got a perverse pleasure from being at the top of his school. He wondered if that could even be compared to this. Mitzi was the aggressive one. She reveled in the afterglow of defeating people and putting herself a notch above them. He wondered, not for the first time, if he had made the right decision in deciding to go with her. He knew that he didn't want to be stuck at home, but maybe battling wasn't his-

"You're thinking too much!" Mitzi yelled, reading his mind. "I'm growing gray hairs over here. Hurry up and send out your pokémon!"

Nurse Sammi laughed and Daichi shot Mitzi a glare over his shoulder. He released Jewel and mentally psyched himself up.

"Let's begin!" Sammi shouted. "Charge, Mikey!"

The Shinx suddenly started to glow brilliantly. It crouched lowly and crackled with electricity from every inch of its body, preparing itself for an attack.

Jewel looked back at her trainer, waiting for a command. Daichi suddenly blanched. "I don't know any attacks," he said, not loud enough for anyone to hear. "Oh my god. I don't know any attacks."

"C'mon!" Mitzi shouted at him impatiently.

Daichi was suddenly reminded of when he'd taken the SAT and how for that first minute his nerves had gotten a hold of him, making him forget everything he'd stayed up all night studying for. Chiasa had made eye contact with him across the room and he'd willed himself to take a deep breath. _You've got this,_ she'd mouthed to him.

It was like a switch in his brain had been flipped on. That was all this was: another test!

"Tackle!"

"Dodge it!" Daichi shouted a little too loudly. But Jewel was off like a rocket. A clumsy one, but a rocket nonetheless. Jewel dove to the side and avoided the incoming Shinx, who skidded to a halt before charging at Jewel again.

Daichi's handbook had sections dedicated entirely to the Kanto starter pokémon. He'd stayed up reading it over and over the first night that he got his pokémon, wanting and needing to catch up to Mitzi's knowledge as soon as possible. Daichi willed himself at that moment to remember Bulbasaur's attacks.

"Try... Try Vine Whip!" he shouted.

Jewel dodged the next tackle and wheeled on the Shinx. Vines shot out from beneath her bulb and smacked the Shinx with enough force to send it squealing as it flew across the grass and into a bush. Jewel chased after it like it was her favorite toy.

"NICE!" Mitzi shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

"Leer!" Sammi commanded. From within the depths of the bush came a flash of angry, yellow eyes. Jewel instantly stopped in her tracks and cowered low to the ground. The Shinx leapt out of the bush with its teeth bared and Jewel high-tailed it away from him like the devil was hot on her heels. She did her best to outrun him, but the Shinx was more agile and knocked Jewel over with a Tackle.

"_Bulba!"_ Jewel shouted. She went tumbling across the grass a dozen times before finally landing on her back. She flailed her stubby little legs in an effort to right herself, but she was entirely helpless.

"Gotcha!" Sammi laughed. "It's time, Mikey! Spark!"

The Shinx's fur crackled with waves of electricity.

"Dee!" Mitzi shouted. "She can't get up!"

"SHUT UP!" Daichi looked at a tree a few feet away from his Bulbasaur. Could she carry herself using just her vines? It looks like he was about to find out. "Jewel, use your vines on that tree!" Daichi shouted. "You can get yourself up!"

Mikey shot straight for her, electricity coming off him in violent sparks. Jewel's vines shot out and wrapped around the trunk of the tree several times. At first she could only drag herself across the grass a few feet, but with some finesse and a push of her back feet, Jewel was on all fours again.

"Dodge and Tackle!" Daichi shouted. At the last second Jewel leapt out of the way, leaving Mikey going at such a speed that he was unable to stop himself from slamming straight into the trunk of the tree. Before he could get up again, Jewel put all of her energy into a Tackle that sent him soaring across the field and landing right in front of Sammi's feet. Dazed, the Shinx mewled helplessly.

"The match is over," Sammi said, trying to suppress her smile. Mitzi cheered like she'd just won the lottery, throwing her arms in the air and accidentally smacking Hannah in the face. They started shoving each other, which probably would have continued if not for the sound of footsteps approaching from behind them.

Sammi lifted the Shinx into her arms and praised him for his efforts. He mewled again with a sheepish smile before being returned to his pokéball.

Daichi stood there, shell-shocked. His whole body was buzzing with energy, every cell in his body suddenly awake for what felt like the first time in his life. He looked down at his shaking hands, then up at Sammi.

"How was that?" Sammi asked, grinning broadly.

Daichi was smiling before he even realized it. Jewel came charging at him and leapt into his arms, sending him stumbling a few steps backwards with the force of his weight. "You were..." Daichi stared down at her and she stared back. Her big red eyes were looking at Daichi as though he put the stars in the sky. He was filled with so much pride that he almost didn't know what to do with it. "Amazing. You were so amazing!" He shouted, spinning her around.

"_Bulbasaur!"_ She shouted, waving her vines in the air. Daichi was drunk off this feeling. It was such a rush. Nothing was going to bring him down from this high. He suddenly felt a connection with Mitzi and Ryuu, understanding why they were always so determined to be one step ahead of everyone else. The victory was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. He looked over to where Mitzi was, wanting to tell her this, but was stopped in his tracks.

"Can I play?" asked an airy, female voice.

A girl around their age stood just a few feet behind Mitzi and Hannah. She was taller than both girls, probably the same height as Daichi. She was long-legged and fair-skinned, wearing a dark blue skirt, a yellow sleeveless blouse, and what looked to be an expensive gold watch. On her other wrist was a collection of golden bracelets that jingled with every movement. She had hazel eyes rimmed in liner and thick lashes. Ash-blonde wisps of hair framed her face from beneath a straw boater hat. It was as though she'd been plucked from the cover of a magazine.

Hannah looked the girl up and down with a half-grimace, sizing up the competition. She decided that she hated this new girl. The blonde didn't seem to notice. Trying to one-up the blonde by showing her that she was out-numbered, Hannah suddenly looped her arm through Mitzi's as though they were best friends. Mitzi shook her off, annoyed.

Sammi stepped between her trio of teens and the blonde. "This is private property," Sammi told her. "You can't just come here unannounced."

"This is a Pokemon Center," the blonde replied flippantly. "Last I checked, they were public property to trainers." She looked Sammi up and down. "Just who are you to tell me I can't be here?"

"I'm Samantha. I run this place."

"You mean you're the nurse," the blonde said.

Sammi bristled. "I'm the woman who's going to toss you back over that fence if you don't show me some form of identification." She held out her hand, waiting.

The blonde hesitated. "I don't have a PokeDex," she confessed, grasping the strap of her brown knapsack. "But I'm a certified trainer and I want to battle you guys!"

Sammi put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. An Alakazam suddenly materialized beside her, making all four of the teens jump in surprise. It hovered towards the blonde and she took a step backwards.

"Look, you guys are the first trainers I've met since I got here and I just want to battle!" She kept taking steps backwards as the Alakazam advanced on her. She jammed her hand in the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her wallet. "Look, I have a Trainer License!" she thrust the card in the pokemon's face. Sammi snatched it and looked it over. She held it up to the sunlight.

"It's real," Sammi said after a while. "It was only issued a few days ago from New Bark. What are you doing in our neck of the woods?"

The blonde snatched her Training License back and stuffed it in her wallet. "I have my reasons, alright? I don't feel like spilling my guts out to perfect strangers. Look, I just want an old-fashioned battle. I recently received a pokémon and I need to see what she can do. So, can I get one or not?"

Sammi stared at her for a long time. Finally, she relented. She crossed her arms and sighed, gesturing for her Alakazam to move aside. He teleported again, but somehow his presence was still heavy among them.

"Is this your first pokémon?" Sammi asked.

"No. Well, yes. I'm Tier 1 if that's what you mean."

"The rest of the pokémon I have are much higher than that. It wouldn't be a fair match." Sammi looked at her trio of teens. "Unless one of you want to take her up on the offer."

Mitzi starting moving like a robot who just had its "ON" switch flipped. She stepped forward before the others could say anything. "I'll battle you," she announced, surprising Daichi. "No switches, no KO's. Whoever falls first loses."

Hazel eyes met blue in a competitive stare down. "Works for me," the blonde said.

"Also," Mitzi added, "Two-hundred pokédollars to whoever wins."

"Mizuko!" Daichi shouted.

"Three-hundred," the blonde replied.

"Done."

Daichi moved to grab Mitzi's shoulder but she dodged out of his grasp. She didn't break eye contact with her new opponent and the blonde smiled. They both stepped backwards, leaving a space of green between them for the battle.

Sammi put her hands on hips. "Let's do this, properly then. Challenger Calliope versus Trainer Mizuko. No knock-outs and no switching. The amount is set at three hundred pokédollars. Do the trainers understand?"

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"Alright. Let the battle begin!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: To those of you who have been following this little story from the beginning (bless your precious souls) I've spent the last few days tightening up the chapters before this and getting rid of what I considered to be filler/non-essential this early in the story. You can go ahead and re-read if you'd like, but it's not entirely necessary. I'm still not really happy with the first chapter either so there will be some revision of that too once I get the chance.**

**To those of you just joining us: Thank you! Hope you enjoy what I've done so far and are holding your breath waiting for the rest. :)**


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